Tourism dynamics: essence and its main function

Table 2. Main Points of Entry Foreign Visitor Arrivals in Indonesia:¹¹

Location	2013	2014	2015
Ngurah Rai Airport (Bali)	3,241,889	3,731,735	3,923,970
Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Jakarta)	2,240,502	2,246,437	2,304,275
Batam	1,336,340	1,454,110	1,545,818

Source: www.statista.com/statistics
In 2015 the Indonesian government granted an additional 45 countries visa-free access to Indonesia (Presidential Regulation no.69/2015 on Exemptions of Visit Visa) in an attempt to boost the tourism industry. Previously, citizens of these countries had to obtain a visit visa before entering Indonesia. In March 2016 the amount of countries for which residents are allowed to enter Indonesia without a visa was raised again through Presidential Regulation no.21/2016 on Exemptions of Visit Visa, meaning there are now a total of 169 countries that not need a visa to enter and stay in Indonesia (for a maximum period of 30 days). Meanwhile, the government also introduced a new regulation on yacht and cruise ships. This new regulation lifts cabotage rights for international cruises and yachts, meaning that international cruise liners can now lift and disembark passengers in 5 Indonesian seaports: Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), Belawan (Medan), Soekarno-Hatta (Makassar) and Benoa (Bali). Previously, only Indonesian-flagged ships were allowed by law to lift and disembark passengers in Indonesian waters.
These policy changes were made in order to attract more foreign visitors. Although granting more tourists visa-free access to Indonesia implies that the country misses out on an estimated USD $11.3 million per year (as currently USD $35 is charged for a ‘visa on arrival’), it is expected to attract an additional 450,000 foreign tourists per year. Considering that each foreign tourist spends an average of between USD $1,100 and USD $1,200 during his/her holiday in Indonesia, the country will thus gain around USD $500 million in additional foreign exchange revenue each year (a domestic tourist spends an average of IDR 711,000 per trip).
Through its Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia promotes itself as a tourist destination in foreign countries with its "Wonderful Indonesia" campaign. It is important for the government to invest in such promotional campaigns to spread a positive image of Indonesia as most western countries mostly receive negative headline stories from Indonesia (for example radical Islam, natural disasters such as a tsunami or massive volcanic eruptions), causing an undue negative image of the country.