Iman Santosa, director of marketing, EMEA for the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, discussed the new e-visa, which launched at the end of October, during a destination briefing at WTM Virtual today (9 November). 

Santosa said the new e-visa would remove the need for face-to-face contact from the visa application process, thereby helping to reduce the spread of Covid-19 while adhering to safety protocols. 

Currently the e-visa option is open to citizens from countries that have travel corridor agreements with Indonesia: China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and South Korea. To obtain the e-visa, applicants need to also submit a health certificate that reveals a negative Covid-19 test result. 

Santosa also discussed the destination’s CHSE (cleanliness, health, safety and environmental sustainability) protocols, which have been implemented across the tourism industry since their launch in July, and which were created alongside the InDOnesiaCARE marketing campaign. 

As part of the campaign, the destination hopes to carry out CHSE certification of all tourism-related industries by the end of the year, free of charge.

“We want to inspire people to visit Indonesia again and for them to know that their health and safety is of the utmost importance,” he said.