The MV National Geographic Orion cruise ship docked at Bali’s Benoa Cruise Terminal (BCT) on the morning of Thursday 27th October 2022.
It is the first cruise ship to dock since Indonesia opened up to the world as the pandemic subsided.
The arrival of the cruise ship was greeted by the Acting Director General of Immigration Widodo Ekatjahjana, wearing a traditional Balinese udeng (headband) and sarong.
“The first cruise arrival after the COVID-19 pandemic has brought foreign tourists. I think we have started to improve our services,” said Ekatjahjana in an immigration press statement on Thursday.
He proceeded to drape flowers over the tourists who came and greeted the crew of the cruise ship.
The MV National Geographic Orion is flagged in the Bahamas and carried 53 passengers and 66 crew. The ship previously departed from Sumbawa and will continue its journey to Singapore.
According to Ekatjahjana, the arrival of the first cruise bringing foreign tourists is expected to widen the entrance of foreign tourists who want to come to Indonesia on cruises. He is optimistic that immigration can facilitate the improvement of the tourism sector by cooperating with relevant ministries and agencies.
Non-tax state income can also be increased by the arrival of cruise ship tourists. Immigration has invited the stakeholders including Pelni, Pelindo, Jakarta Lloyd, and Benline to attract as many tourists and foreign cruise ships as possible to Bali and other destinations in Indonesia.
Currently, VoA tourists are the mainstay of immigration in depositing Non-Tax State Revenue to the state. From January to October 2022, VoA income from immigration deposited Rp1.2 trillion to state coffers while the total Non-Tax State Revenue for the past 10 months reached Rp3 trillion.