In recognition of the potential of the country’s marine sector to become a key driver of the economy and to create jobs, the new government is preparing measures to develop the cruise and yacht-tourism industries as part of an effort to double the number of foreign visitors entering the country within five years. As reported by the Jakarta Post.

Published 9 years ago, updated 5 years ago

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The government will expedite permitting for yachts wanting to enter the country’s ports, from taking weeks to taking one day only, with an online one-stop service protocol under the management of the Foreign Ministry, said Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, Indroyono Soesilo.

The government is also planning to lengthen the time yacht permits would remain valid, from a period of six months to a whole year of multiple entries.

Under the current regulation, yacht owners and cruise ship companies must obtain permits from at least 16 institutions — including the Foreign Ministry, the Transportation Ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI) — and the lengthy process discourages them from spurring local economic activities.

The government has estimated that the number of incoming yachts would double to 1,500 after the policy is implemented next year through a presidential regulation (Perpres).

The plan was proposed by the Tourism Ministry recently as part of the ministry’s target to increase the number of foreign tourists to between 10 and 20 million in the period from 2015 to 2019, according to him. Last year, Indonesia welcomed a total of 8.8 million foreign tourists.

“With the ease of yachts entering the country’s coastal regencies, we hope that it could boost the tourism industry’s contribution to foreign exchange and also help it develop beyond Bali,” Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said.

“We think it is important to increase the number of tourists from cruises and yachts because these tourists are mostly people with very strong purchasing power and we have all the resources to actually lure them to visit the country,” the Tourism Ministry’s marketing director general Esthy Reko Astuti told the Post.

The government’s annual sailing rally, which was held in Raja Ampat this year, is part of its effort to boost the number of cruises, according to her. The international event is scheduled to be held in Tomini, Central Sulawesi next year.