Garuda Indonesia introduces “Visa on Board” on its Guangzhou-Jakarta flights

JAKARTA - Garuda Indonesia announced that the airline now also provides Immigration on Board services for passengers on its Guangzhou – Jakarta flights. Visa on Board from China has been extended earlier on Garuda’s Shanghai-Jakarta flights since May this year.

Previously, “the Immigration on Board” service has already been introduced in six other Garuda services, among others : Tokyo (Narita) – Jakarta, Seoul – Jakarta, Sydney – Jakarta, Tokyo (Narita) – Denpasar (Bali) , Osaka – Denpasar and Sydney – Denpasar.

“Immigration on Board” is an immigration document handling service that provides “Visa On Arrival” to passengers on board a Garuda Indonesia flight with the assistance from immigration officers designated on the Garuda flight to Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia provides the service in collaboration with the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia.

To obtain the Immigration on Board service, passengers must first purchase a visa on arrival voucher at Garuda Indonesia check-in counters at airport of departure. During the flight, two immigration officers will conduct passport checks and issue visa on arrival. Passengers who have been given the entry visa will also receive a special card that must be returned to the ground immigration officers upon arrival (at Soekarno-Hatta) before leaving the airport. The immigration on board service gives passengers the freedom to bypass queues at the immigration counters and have a more pleasant travel experience in Indonesia.

On 2 October, Indonesia and China renewed the MoU on Tourism that, among others, targets a two way tourist flow of 2 million passengers between the two countries by 2015. The MoU was followed up immediately by Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Mari Elka Pangestu, visiting Beijing, Jinan, Shanghai and Guangzhou from 11 -14 November. Here the Minister met the media and the tourist industry. The visit was followed up immediately by Garuda Indonesia and the private sector to increase traffic from China to Indonesia.

China visitors to Indonesia grows rapidly

Tourism from China to Indonesia has grown rapidly in the past years. In 2012 some 618,223 tourists from China visited Indonesia, a surge of 22.5% from 514,749 in 2011. While between January to August this year, the number of tourists from China has already risen with a significant 12%.

China has now become the fourth top tourist market for Indonesia, after Singapore and Malaysia and Australia. While, according to online booking through 17u.com, the island of Bali is the third top choice destination among Chinese traveler bookings after Jeju and Phuket.

In 2013 Indonesia is confident to reach the total international arrival target of 8.6 million tourists, up from 8.04 million in 2012.

Meanwhile, air connections have also improved greatly. Garuda Indonesia flies daily from Guangzhou and Shanghai to Jakarta, now also daily from Beijing to Jakarta. While China Southern flies daily between Guangzhou and Jakarta.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews