REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- The Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) 2016 is expected to lure more tour operators, thanks to the visa-free facility being offered by Indonesia to 169 countries.
"The visa-free facility will cut short (the administrative) process for operators to attend the BBTF, so the opportunity is bigger," BBTF organizing committee's chairman, Ketut Ardana, stated here, Tuesday.
Most tour operators are busy people, so the visa-free facility will be helpful, he pointed out.
Bali's businessmen from the tourism sector lauded the visa-free facility granted to 169 countries and hoped it would help increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals to 20 million by 2019.
The government has made a breakthrough by offering visa-free facility to countries that have been the source of tourists to Indonesia, he stated.
President Joko Widodo signed Presidential Regulation No. 21 of 2016 on Visit Visa-Free Facility in March 2016.
The visa-free facility can be availed by tourists arriving in Indonesia through certain airports, including the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali.
The BBTF, to be held at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in June, will not only introduce tourist destinations in Bali but also in other Indonesian regions.
This year, the BBTF is themed "Tanah Toraja," a region in Sulawesi having a rich cultural heritage.
The participants at the fair can enjoy Toraja's cultural and art performances and culinary arts.
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