DENPASAR ~

The effort of President Joko Widodo to provide free visa to Indonesia for five countries is very favorable for economic of Bali as 25 dollars for visa can be spent for shopping.

“The free visa for tourists from the potential countries is very favorable for growth in the tourism sector as the main support of Bali’s economy,” said Chairman of the Tourism Trade Unions of Badung, Putu Satyawira Marhendra in Denpasar on Tuesday.

The Government has speed up visa-free opening, moreover the tourists are from five countries that supply most visitors to Bali, such as from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and Australia.

The more the government provide free visas to the international community that have vacation to Indonesia, including Bali, the better, because many neighboring countries that rely on tourism sector has been giving free visa.

He said that it is not immediately have an impact, because it still takes time for foreigners to do the tour of advance planning and highly disciplined spending money.

The presence of free visas for tourists’ supplier countries to Bali and most of the other countries are expected to follow and will be able to multiply the foreign tourists to Bali in line with the target set at about four million people next year.

While the Bali Tourism Office noted, Australia is the largest tourist supplier countries to Bali that is 721,895 people which recorded 25.96 per cent of all foreign tourists to Bali during the period of January-September 2014 that was 2.7 million people.

Following the Chinese tourists 445,719 people or about 16 percent of all foreign tourists to Bali and that number increased 47.80 percent from last year which only 301,566 people that is expected to increase by this free-visa.

With the visa exemption for Japanese tourists to Indonesia, it is expected to increase more Japanes come to the country, especially the younger generation who enjoy vacation in Bali while enjoying sports at sea that became craze of young people of Japan.

Korean tourists to Bali are also increasingly stretched lately and now it is in the sixth position of tourists’ supplier to Bali, after Singapore, Malaysia Australia, China and Japan.

Only tourists from Russia is still in small amounts that come to Bali and the country has great potential.