Following its earlier announcement of a plan to lift tourist visa requirement for citizens of a selected number of countries, which include China, Indonesia has announced its intention to ease its regulations on entry permits for foreign cruise ships. Alan Lam reports.

In a scramble to attract cruise tourism, and as another clear sign of the growing importance of this business in the region, the Indonesian authorities are working toward reducing the process surrounding the entry requirement of yachts and cruise ships to its territorial waters. Currently this process takes up to three weeks. The aim is to shorten it to just one day - a huge and complicated step for this country’s gigantic bureaucratic machinery. 

Under the current regime, cruise ship operators have to apply to 16 institutions in order to obtain an entry permit, another reason Indonesia is lagging behind in the Far Eastern regional cruise business development.

Indonesia is one of a small number of South East Asian countries still operating a visa requirement scheme for nearly all overseas visitors. Recognising the importance of tourism to its economy, it is progressively easing control in this regard. It aims to increase it annual tourist number to between 10 and 20 million during 2015-19.

This latest move will be welcomed by cruise operators, as, within that country, there are a number of destinations that are of immense interest to itinerary planners.Indonesia is also of strategic importance to cruise business of the region.