To counter the unexpected price increase in Indonesia’s visa application fee, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday travel agencies should charge customers based on the terms stated in their contract.
The bureau invited representatives from the Consumer Protection Commission, the Consumers’ Foundation, the Travel Agent Association and other interested parties yesterday morning to formulate guiding principles on handling disputes that may potentially arise because of the policy change.
The Indonesian Government made an unexpected announcement on Monday that it had stopped issuing seven-day landing visas to Taiwanese tourists and that it would only issue 30-day tourism visas. The visa application fee was increased from US$10 to US$25. It said the policy would take effect immediately.
The bureau decided that Article 9 of the standardized contract regulating overseas tours would apply. It states that travel agencies should pay for any additional costs if the price they charge a customer includes the visa application fee.
“Any change in the visa application fee is considered an operational risk that travel agencies have to bear,” the bureau said in a statement.
If, however, a travel agency has a contract with a customer that states the packaged tour does not include the visa application fee, the customer would have to pay the higher fee, the bureau said.
Some travel agency firms complained about the bureau’s decision.
They said they simply take visa application fees from their customers and hand the money directly to the Indonesian Government upon arrival at the airport. The travel agents do not get any reimbursement for collecting the money on behalf of the Indonesian Government, they said, and the customers should pay for the additional costs.
They said the “one-price” was devised for the convenience of customers and should not be used as a reason for travel agents to cover additional costs.
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