Australian tourists denied visa-free visits

Indonesia will soon allow tourists from an additional 30 countries to visit without a visa, a minister said, but neighboring Australia was left off the list.

The move comes amid a diplomatic dispute over the looming executions in Indonesia of two Australian drug traffickers convicted of trying to smuggle heroin out of Bali. Jakarta denied the strained ties between the countries was a factor in the decision to exclude Australians from the visa-free policy.

The new policy comes as Jakarta tries to boost a faltering economy, which is growing at a five-year low, and to attract more foreign income as the rupiah rapidly weakens.