Apr 18, 2007, 4:19 GMT
Jakarta - To help boost the declining number of foreign visitors to Indonesia, the government has allowed the citizens of 11 more countries to be granted visas on their arrival in the archipelago nation, the state-run Antara news agency reported Wednesday.
Algeria, Tunisia, Rumania, Lithuania, Panama, Libya, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Fiji and Slovenia have been added to the list of 52 nations whose citizens are already granted visas on arrival, said Sambujo Parikesit, director general of tourism destinations at the Tourism Ministry.
The decision came after Indonesia missed its 2006 tourist arrival target of 5.5 million by 700,000 people. The country has set a target of 6 million foreign visitors for this year and 8 million in 2009.
Indonesia's tourism sector has been hit by a string of terrorist attacks during the past several years as well as a series of earthquakes, tsunamis and bird-flu outbreaks that have so far claimed the lives of 74 people - the world's highest death toll. Domestic sectarian violence has also damaged the country's reputation as a tourism destination.
A senior government official said recently that the government plans to reopen a number of international tourism offices this year to help attract foreign visitors. The government closed those offices after the 1997-1998 Asian economic crisis because of a lack of funding.
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