REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government has increased the number of immigration checkpoints for entry from nine to 14 and 50 exit checkpoints for tourists coming from countries granted visa-free facility for travel to Indonesia.

Deputy of Foreign Tourism Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism I Gde Pitana stated here on Tuesday that the free visa facility can increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia from five to 25 percent.

"Evaluation of the first stage of implementation of the visa-free policy shows an increase of 15 percent in the number of tourist arrivals from 30 countries while an overall rise of 2.69 percent," he noted.

Pitana remarked that during this time, foreign tourists from 30 countries, who had availed the visa-free policy, could only enter and exit Indonesia on a limited basis through nine immigration entry points.

On September 4, 2015, he stated that tourists can enter and exit Indonesia through immigration entry points throughout the country, which have been integrated with information systems and immigration management.

The additional entry points have been opened at five airports and nine seaports.

Meanwhile, the 50 exit points comprise 19 airports, 29 seaports, and two land entrances.

The seaport immigration entry points are located in Nongsa Terminal Bahari, Marina Teluk Senimba, Citra Tri Tunas, Bandar Bentan Telani Lagoi, Bandar Seri Udaba Lobam, Tanjung Balai Karimun, Sekupang, Batam Center, and Sri Bintan Pura.

The airport immigration entry points are in Soekarno Hatta in Jakarta; Juanda in Surabaya, East Java province; Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, Bali; Hang Nadim in Batam, Riau Islands; and Kualanamu in Medan, North Sumatra province.