Tourism Outlook Promising

By Barrie | May 4th, 2007 | No Comments

The tourism industry is expected to continue its recovery this year on the back of intensified efforts to promote Indonesia as a destination and encourage foreign players to invest in tourist attractions here. Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said that in line with the increasing number of foreign tourists in the first quarter, the government would focus on promoting tourist attractions and improving facilities at popular tourist destinations.

“We are preparing several programs that will focus on the promotion and development of tourist attractions,” he said while opening the Gebyar Wisata Nasional 2007 — an annual exhibition held to promote culture and tourism according to a Business News report.

He said that besides the promotion and development of tourist destinations, improvements to the country’s air transportation system and the expansion of the visa-on-arrival scheme at gateway airports would also lead to an increase in the number of foreign visitors.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), foreign tourist arrivals during the first quarter of the year reached 1 million, up 14.2 percent from 877,000 during the same period last year.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Bali increased by 40 percent to 363,686 from 251,382 in the corresponding period last year.

Last week, the government signed an agreement with a Dubai investor for the development of a resort on Lombok island at a cost of US$600 million, in what Jero said should serve as a catalyst to encourage more investment in the tourism industry.

“A number of foreign investors have individually expressed interest in developing some of our tourist attractions, although we have yet to reach any agreements,” he said.

The government will prioritize five provinces for tourism development this year — West Sumatra, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara — with a budget of over Rp 70 billion.

Another effort will be focused on international-event organizers to encourage them to stage events such as seminars, meetings and conventions in Indonesia.

“If we can persuade them to hold these kinds of events in places other than Jakarta and Bali, which frequently host such events, this would provide a great boost for these other places,” he said.