159 countries lost visa free access to Indonesia

[pantaiema]

Could someone give a short resume? What is he saying?

Nowadays, you could benefit from YT (+Google Translation) new feature of auto transcription and auto translation. People is generally be able to do it for most of new YT video.
1. Click cc (Closed capture) on the right bottom corner
2. Click setting change language to English.

You should automatically get translation displayed on your screen. See example of print screen you should get in English.

 

[pantaiema]

Could someone give a short resume? What is he saying?

In general these are the reasons.
1. Taking momentum of COVID-19 where visa requirement was already in place
2. Visa free should be reciprocal. Other countries such as AU, even the DE citizen entering AU will need a Visa. Similarly to the EU countries, US.
3. Must provide benefit to Indonesian people / government. quality tourisms, etc
4. Security aspects

As mentioned previously this guy duty (e.g getting paid) is to explain / to defend what has been decided, so do not blame him.

 

[snpark]

Germany and the US don't require all visitors to get visas, so that's a smokescreen for the revenue angle.

Even Brits need a visa to the US. You can't just rock up at the airport and fly or land and get stamped entry free on arrival
And also now post Brexit we need for some European countries too

 

[Bob]

Even Brits need a visa to the US. You can't just rock up at the airport and fly or land and get stamped entry free on arrival
And also now post Brexit we need for some European countries too

I guess you mean ESTA. They say it's not a visa, just an authorization.

 

[R Cameron]

Germany and the US don't require all visitors to get visas, so that's a smokescreen for the revenue angle.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear, he was saying that Australia (and others) requires visas for all visitors including visitors from Germany and US.

 

[flavus]

I guess you mean ESTA. They say it's not a visa, just an authorization.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear, he was saying that Australia (and others) requires visas for all visitors including visitors from Germany and US.

To be fair, the passport index considers both ESTA for UK citizens entering the US and the travel authorization for US citizens going to Australia under the same category (yellow, so not a full blown visa).

Indonesia's VOA is considered easier (blue), I suspect because you don't have to be pre-screened so I agree with people saying it's a ploy to get money / to futilely try and get reciprocity

It is, however, not correct that nobody enters Australia visa free. NZ citizens do.

 

[snpark]

I guess you mean ESTA. They say it's not a visa, just an authorization.

Yes that's the one same as Australia, you cannot just enter without a visa of sorts albeit just a pre approval / authorisation which also you have to declare your drug use and criminal record unless you are a ginger whinger from Windsor

 

[harryopal1]

An ABC report today on Bhutan mentions that to ensure only "quality" tourists visit there is a $300Aus a day fee for being in the country. Well, that should make sure that Bhutan is only getting tourists most likely to stay at top hotels and keeping the income where it belongs - with the already wealthy. Forget all those undeserving locals who cater to mass tourism. It seems there is an exodus of young people leaving Bhutan to find work.

 

[flavus]

An ABC report today on Bhutan mentions that to ensure only "quality" tourists visit there is a $300Aus a day fee for being in the country. Well, that should make sure that Bhutan is only getting tourists most likely to stay at top hotels and keeping the income where it belongs - with the already wealthy. Forget all those undeserving locals who cater to mass tourism. It seems there is an exodus of young people leaving Bhutan to find work.

Yikes, even in expensive cities like NYC and London you can get a decent hotel bed for that much. The thought of spending double or more per diem... yeah, hard pass

 

[centurion]

Yikes, even in expensive cities like NYC and London you can get a decent hotel bed for that much. The thought of spending double or more per diem... yeah, hard pass

Been in Singapore last week and the 4-star hotel was 150 USD/day. Singapore is the most expensive city in the world.

 

[Samoerai]

An ABC report today on Bhutan mentions that to ensure only "quality" tourists visit there is a $300Aus a day fee for being in the country. Well, that should make sure that Bhutan is only getting tourists most likely to stay at top hotels and keeping the income where it belongs - with the already wealthy. Forget all those undeserving locals who cater to mass tourism. It seems there is an exodus of young people leaving Bhutan to find work.

Why Is Bhutan So Expensive To Travel To And It Is Worth The Price?

Why is Bhutan so expensive and is Bhutan worth visiting despite a hefty price tag? Read our honest review in this post! >>>

tripsget.com

 

[Samoerai]

Been in Singapore last week and the 4-star hotel was 150 USD/day. Singapore is the most expensive city in the world.

Only "Crazy Rich Asians" live there

 

[Balifrog]

Tahiti (French Polynesia) managed to get only "quality" tourists...
Check out prices on Bora Bora or Moorea islands....

Mostly US tourists as flights from Europe are crazy.

If the government triples my pension, I could consider it. And St Martin as well.

 

[pantaiema]

I think comparing tourism in Buthan with Bali, Lombok, Jakarta, etc is like comparing apple and orange. In Bhutan it might be justifiable to demand people to purchase a packaged guided tour, as it is difficult to do it on your own. Bhutan is a remote country, hilly and mountainous with not well developed infrastructure compared to other tourist cities in the world. Unless you use a local guide or you are an adventurous person, it is very dangerous to navigate yourself through the high mountain passes, valleys, with a winding and relatively dangerous passes, as they rarely have more than one lane.

Indonesia direct competitors in tourism are the countries in South East Asia. Buthan is too far to be considered as a direct competitor.

If you want to compare Bali/Lombok Jakarta in South East Asian countries you will need to compare it with other cities in in South East Asia such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Pattaya, Chiang May in Thailand. In the Philippines, Manila, Cebu or Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang in Malaysia.

These South East Asian countries are visa free for the tourists coming from the catchment areas.

 

[flavus]

Why Is Bhutan So Expensive To Travel To And It Is Worth The Price?

Why is Bhutan so expensive and is Bhutan worth visiting despite a hefty price tag? Read our honest review in this post! >>>

tripsget.com

OK, so that price is all inclusive. Not too bad then.

Still - having been on guided tours before I normally avoid them.

 

[snpark]

Yes Bhutan is all Inc.

 

[flavus]

So the funny impact of this is that Singapore now has the strongest passport in the world while Japan went down the rankings

Major Shake-Up in World’s Passport Power Ranking

LONDON, July 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Japan has been knocked off the top spot on the Henley Passport Index for the first time in five years and bumped into 3rd place, according to the latest ranking, which is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport...

finance.yahoo.com