Jakarta. House Commission VII Deputy Chair Evita Nursanty on Thursday called on the government to rethink its visa policy for foreign visitors, warning that Indonesia risks losing ground to ASEAN neighbors that have aggressively expanded visa-free entry.

Evita said most ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, and Myanmar, already offer wide visa-free access for major markets such as China, India, Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. Indonesia, she noted, instead rolled back its visa-free scheme at a time when competitors were ramping up post-pandemic.

“We can’t afford to fall behind. When neighboring countries are opening free visas and their arrivals are soaring, Indonesia must take comparable steps to stay competitive in the region and globally,” Evita said in Jakarta.

Evita stressed that Indonesia’s world-class destinations, from Bali, Labuan Bajo, and Raja Ampat to Borobudur, Mandalika, Danau Toba, and Likupang, remain under-leveraged partly due to restrictive entry rules.

Evita pointed to sharp contrasts in performance: Malaysia logged 28 million arrivals in the first eight months of 2025 toward a 31.4-million target, while Thailand recorded 24 million in the first nine months against its 33.4-million goal. Indonesia, meanwhile, booked 11.43 million visitors in the first nine months, still far from the 15-million full-year target, with Bali alone contributing 5.3 million.

“Bali is busy, but nationally we see many destinations struggling to attract more foreign visitors, from Danau Toba and Batam to Jakarta, Likupang-Manado, Lombok, Makassar, and Bangka Belitung,” said Evita.

Restoring visa-free entry would spark broad economic gains, stronger tourist spending, support for MSMEs, hotels, restaurants, transport, and creative industries, as well as more jobs, investment, and air connectivity, according to Evita.

Commission VII views Indonesia’s current visa regime as overly restrictive and out of sync with efforts to boost tourism competitiveness. Still, Evita said the government should determine appropriate stay limits and ensure national security and immigration oversight remain intact.

“Whether it returns to the previous list of 159 countries or a more targeted approach, we leave that to the government,” she said.

Evita also urged the use of digital technologies to streamline border processes, reduce manual checks, and strengthen security.

“Digital tools now allow faster screening, risk detection, and seamless processing without slowing visitors, enabling data-driven policy decisions similar to what other countries already apply,” she said.