INDONESIA’s Tourism and Crea-tive Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno recently floated the idea of promoting Indonesian tourism by granting “digital nomad” visas that allow foreign visitors to work throughout their stay, provided these people don’t enter the local labour market.
Like tourist visas, they are easy to obtain but they allow the visa holder to stay in the nation longer.
The innovative visa would be granted to people that are not employed in the nation they are visiting. For example , digital nomad visas could be given to Australian tourists who work remotely from Bali but still pay their particular income tax in Australia.
The advantage of providing digital nomad visas is that these working Australian tourists will invest most of their revenue in Indonesia, not in their home country.
It benefits the tourists as well as the sponsor country. The experience of several nations which have applied it, for example Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Costa Rica, shows that digital nomad visas provide a couple of advantages.
Towards the host country’s economy, the idea of granting digital nomad visas cannot be separated from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced the closure associated with international borders.
Some of the main reasons for any digital nomad australian visa include increasing need for work from home preparations, even when work through office has started again. Emplo-yees who work outside the office during vacation to support their work-life balance are required to increase company productivity.
The second factor is the pricing craze in the travel business, with hotels offering daily, weekly and monthly packages, particularly in essential destinations like Bali or Lombok. These packages, often called “work from hotel”, provide convenience in order to remote workers.
The third factor is the increased types of function that can be done online. Multiple remote jobs, such as marketing consultant, software engineer, programmer, graphic designer and information analyst, are significantly demanded and needed. On the other hand, companies can also save operational costs by allowing their own employees to work distantly.
Looking at the main factors why electronic nomad visas are becoming a trend today, there are some opportunities intended for Indonesia.
Geographically, Indonesia is located near to digital start-up centers such as Australia, Brand new Zealand and Singapore. These three countries are known to be full of wealthy corporations and employees. The three adjoining countries also have the productive and stable business ecosystem, therefore the pandemic has not had too much effect on their economies.
At the same time, Indonesia has a relatively low cost of living. For example , in terms of lodging, Australia and New Zealand have an typical weekly rate of around US$300-US$400 (RM1, 328-RM1, 771) for an one-bedroom apartment and in Singapore, the rate is around US$250-US$350 (RM1, 107-RM1, 549).
In Indonesia, the rate is a lot lower and comes with better amenities plus facilities. This does not include the lower expenses of food, schools and transportation in lots of cities in Philippines.
Popular places such as Bali and Yogyakarta still have a lesser cost of living than the 3 neighbouring countries.
Looking at these opportunities, it is evident that will granting digital nomad visas is a profitable opportunity. Nevertheless, there are several factors to consider first before granting the facility.
The first is to determine which usually countries are eligible with this visa facility. Indonesia has to learn from the previous regulations before the pandemic, when more than 100 countries were given access to visa facilities, so the many visitors that came were unqualified (in terms of their spending and contribution).
Choosing the countries could be based on the interest of their citizens in working as digital nomads.
The following technique is to prepare specific ecosystems and facilities to support digital nomads, including comfortable operating spaces with a super-fast 5G Internet system.
Only a few areas in Indonesia possess 5G network protection, or even 4G protection. Internet infrastructure is crucial in making a location attractive from the perspective of digital nomads.
The government bodies need to think about purchasing free WiFi amenities for various open public spaces that are relevant to tourism. In addition , the government should issue assisting regulations on issues such as a tax mechanism and an obligation to partner with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
A good obligation for digital nomads to partner with SMEs will induce the spirit of entrepreneurship and collaboration in regional innovative economies. Therefore , a few conditions can be made, including an responsibility for digital nomads to have SME products in their trading actions abroad.
Other things include a commitment to assisting SMEs within conducting active advertising campaigns through different digital channels.
Tourism stakeholders within destinations that are ready to welcome the appearance of digital nomad tourists need to collaborate in providing convenience and readiness for the visa holders.
Precise regional mapping is also required so the appearance of electronic nomad tourists serves not only to increase the amount of international tourists but also to have a positive impact on the economy from the area they go to. – The Jakarta Post/Asia News System
Made Handijaya Dewantara is really a tourism lecturer from Prasetiya Mulya University or college, Jakarta.