Indonesia plans to attract digital nomads to Bali with five-year visa

Around 95 per cent of 'digital nomads' surveyed have said Indonesia is their 'top of mind' destination for remote work and they are ready to travel. - AFP

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): Indonesia plans to issue a special five-year visa for remote workers and business-leisure travellers to lure visitors back to Bali and other destinations.

Around 95 per cent of surveyed "digital nomads" have said Indonesia is their "top of mind" destination for remote work and they are ready to travel, Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's Yvonne Man and Rishaad Salamat on Monday (June 6).

The ministry has mulled this special visa since early 2021, but the plan was derailed by coronavirus resurgences, stringent border controls and a lack of flights to Indonesia's tourist destinations.

"Now with the pandemic handled and all the ministries getting involved and cooperating from the health side to the immigrations office, we believe that this is an opportune time to relaunch this idea," Uno said.

South-East Asia's largest economy has scrapped most of its travel restrictions, allowing fully-vaccinated visitors to come without testing or quarantine requirements, as Covid-19 cases stay low and booster doses are rolled out.

Tourist arrivals jumped 500 per cent to 111,000 in April, its highest monthly tally since the pandemic.

Indonesia expects to hit its target of 3.6 million tourist arrivals this year, with events like the Group of 20 (G-20) meetings and various sporting competitions on the calendar.

This should create over a million jobs for Indonesians and help propel economic growth after the pandemic, Uno said.