FOREIGN cruise ships will
soon be able to call into five big
Indonesian ports, after the govt
relaxed its restrictions on foreign
vessels in a bid to boost tourism.
The Transportation Ministry
has chosen the biggest ports
– Tanjung Priok in Jakarta;
Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, East
Java; Belawan in Medan, North
Sumatra; Makassar in South
Sulawesi and Benoa in Bali as the
places where foreign cruise ships
can drop off and pick up tourists,
the Jakarta Post reports.
Under the new regulation,
tourists can disembark at these
ports and tour the area, while
ships can stop at tourist spots and
collect tourists.
The Ministry’s director general
for sea transportation Bobby
Mamahit said the policy “will help
the economy as the govt is also
trying to boost tourist visits.”
Previously, under the cabotage
principle, each domestic state in
Indonesia was entitled to forbid
and restrict foreign vessels to sail
and to conduct business in the
area of the state.
Under the principal, every ship
had to obtain a permit to cross &
to enter the territory of a state.
The changes will allow domestic
tourists, who previously had to go
to neighbouring countries such as
Singapore for cruising, to embark
on cruises in Indonesia.
