REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIJING - Indonesia has called for the Chinese government to grant the visa on arrival facility for Indonesians traveling to the country. Indonesian government said that Indonesia had already been doing the same for Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia.

"Indonesia has agreed to grant visas on arrival for Chinese citizens. But until now the Chinese government has not adopted a similar policy," the Director for Consular Affairs at Indonesias Foreign Affairs Ministry Tri Tharyat said on Wednesday after meeting with Chinese officials.

According to him, the cooperation in consular affairs between Indonesia and China had not been formalized into a binding regulation yet. A formal cooperation, such as the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) is necessary as the number of tourists coming from Indonesia to China and vice versa is rising.

Indonesia is providing the visa on arrival facility to tourists coming from 63 countries, including China. The policy will be evaluated every six months. 

The number of Chinese tourists coming to Indonesia in 2010 was pegged at 260,000. But in 2012, the number jumped to 850,000 and is expected to touch around one million this year.

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