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We would have loved to stay longer, but our visas have run out. So we’re going to Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam/Burma instead.”

It’s a story told by many travelers. I ’ve spent the last two and a half months on the road in Indonesia and Malaysia and conversation in backpacker hostels, pubs and cafes almost always turns to the issue of visas for traveling in Southeast Asia. Indonesia does not fare well in these discussions.

In Malaysia, tourists from most nations are granted a free 90-day tourist visa upon arrival, while in Indonesia, visas on arrival are for 30 days and cost $25. In February, the government changed the law so that visas on arrival can now be extended once, to 60 days, for an additional $25. But, from the stories I hear, this is usually not an easy process.

Take, for example, Johnny and Kate, a young English couple on a nine-month trip through Asia. They wanted to travel to Bali, Java and Sumatra. After having spent three weeks in Bali, they went to the immigration office to have their visas extended before heading to Java. More than a week later, they were still waiting in Kuta without their passports, their original visas expired.

“We are just not the type of travelers who want to spend a week in Kuta waiting for our visas,” Johnny said. “It was really, really frustrating.”

They eventually got their visas extended, but they lost so much time waiting in Kuta that Sumatra had to get lopped off their itinerary.

In North Sumatra, tour operators say that happens a lot these days. Lake Toba and Medan used to be hopping with backpackers some 10 to 15 years ago, but with the rest of Southeast Asia opening up, as well as some of the rather public troubles Indonesia has faced over the last decade, things have become significantly more competitive. There are far more tour guides and empty rooms than visitors, especially during the low season.

Mat, a Toba local who works as a self-proclaimed “friend of tourists,” which translates to travel guide, booking agent, driver and whatever else is needed that day, put it bluntly.

“It’s a long way from Bali to North Sumatra,” he said, as we cruised across the lake in a half-empty tourist ferry. “Most people only really know about Bali. If they don’t have much time, the bad infrastructure makes it difficult to get around — and the visas. People have not enough time because of the visas.”

Then there are the travelers who try the old in-and-out-and-in-again trick. Sean, a solo backpacker from the US whom I met at the Batam Island ferry terminal, told me he had flown from Jakarta to Singapore after spending a month in Java, then took a ferry to Batam, from where he was going to take a flight to Sumatra.

At the terminal, the immigration officials lectured him for not extending his visa when he came back and trying to purchase a second visa on arrival.

“To extend the visa, you need to be near an immigration office. I spent most of my time out of the cities. Plus another guy I met on the road said he tried to extend his visa in Jakarta and they said he needed a sponsor letter from a local. If you’re a tourist, that’s just not practical,” he said.

Tourism boosts local economies. And attracting more travelers also enhances the experience of other travelers. In East Java, a group of us sat waiting for hours for more travelers to board a bus before it could leave for Cemoro Lawang, the kickoff point for viewing the sunrise at Mount Bromo. The driver said he needed a certain number to leave. In the end, we had to pay more to go, and some on the bus screamed of rip-offs and scams.

At the end of the day, the best PR for tourism in Indonesia are the stories that people tell when they go home, or the ones they post on their blogs. In fact, considering how little effort the government puts into promoting Indonesia to international tourists, it’s pretty much the only promotion the tourism industry here gets.

If the stories shared by tourists are of visa troubles and transport woes, instead of Indonesia’s breathtaking beauty and friendliness, that would be sad indeed. The government should be trying to remove the obstacles for tourists so they can enjoy all that Indonesia has to offer, while taking steps to ensure the sustainability of the natural environment that draws people to this country in the first place.

Ashlee Betteridge is a freelance writer and former Jakarta Globe copy editor.