Indonesia loses out to Southeast Asian neighbors in attracting foreign tourists

"We’ve seen that countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have been very proactive in granting visa-free visits," Sandiaga said at his ministry’s weekly press briefing as cited by Jakarta Post.

The number of foreign tourists to Indonesia was lower than other neighbors due to lack of visa exemptions as well as major international events, such as Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, he said.

Indonesia last year stopped the visa-free entry citizens of 159 countries and territories used to be eligible for amid concerns about "disruption of public order and potential transmission of diseases."

The government earlier planned to waive visas for tourists from 20 countries including the U.S. and China.

Indonesia last year received 11.7 million foreign tourists, far behind most of its neighbors.

Malaysia led Southeast Asia with 29 million tourist arrivals, followed by Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Malaysia and Thailand started waiving visas for Chinese and Indian tourists last year.