MINISTRY UPBEAT ABOUT 2010 TOURISM TARGET

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 16 (ANTARA) - The various natural disasters that have happened  killing hundreds of people -- such as the flash floods in West Papua's Wasior, Mount Merapi eruptions in Central Java and the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in West Sumatra's Mentawai Islands-- had raised concern that Indonesia would not be able to reach its target of attracting seven million foreign tourists  in 2010.          Yet, as the year is approaching its end, tourism officials are still upbeat that despite the ordeals  the country experienced  this year, the target of seven million foreign tourist arrivals can be achieved if arrivals in November and December remain  stable.          "Indonesia has had to face heavy odds  in its tourism sector this year due to the occurrence of a number of natural disasters. But we are still optimistic that the target of 7 million will be achieved," Marketing Director General of the Culture and Tourism Ministry Pasta Nirwandar said.          The optimism is based on the figure of foreign tourist arrivals in the January - October 2010 period which had reached 5.7 million. After all, arrivals in November and December have yet to be calculated, while December is usually a time when tourist arrivals peak.          He said that until Thursday, his ministry had not yet obtained data on the exact number of foreign tourist arrivals for the whole year because recapitulation on the arrivals of foreign tourists had not yet been completed, particularly those arriving in the last two months.          Interim data showed that in the January - October 2010 period, a total of 5,780,571 foreign tourists had visited Indonesia and about 233,4 million domestic tourists were recorded to have conducted touristic trips.          Sapta expressed hope that in the year end, the figure would increase and reach seven million, or even exceed it, based on the country's target this year.          "We hope that the number of foreign tourists arriving in November and December would be stable, or at least equal to that of last year or even exceeded it," he said.           Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik will soon announce the results of Visit Indonesia Year 2010 program, particularly its target to net seven million foreign tourists.          "At the end of December, there will be a Visit Indonesia Year 2010 appreciation night. During the occasion, Minister Jero Wacik will announce the result of the visit Indonesia year program,"  Sapta Nirwandar said  on Thursday.          He said that during the appreciation night which was scheduled to be held at Sahid Jaya Hotel on December 28, 2010, the minister was scheduled to announce the theme of Indonesia Visit Year 2011, including its foreign tourist arrival target for 2011.          At present, officials at the ministry are still discussing the possible target Indonesia would set for 2011."We are still discussing the possibility of setting a target at between 7.3 million and 7.6 million next year," Noviendi Makalam, secretary to the director general for marketing affairs at the Tourism and Culture Ministry  said earlier.          Noviendi said that the figure did not significantly increase compared with the 2010 target of 7 million foreign tourist arrivals.           The culture and tourism ministry would do its best to encourage foreign tourists to visit more tourist destinations in Indonesia so that they would not merely visit Bali, Batam-Bintan and Jakarta.          Noviendi said that the target which was being eyed next year had been made through a number of calculations, including the preparedness of tourist destinations to receive visitors. "We so far are convinced that the 7 million figure is psychological figure which means that if we are able to exceed the 7 million target this year, we will not face difficulties to get more than next year," he said.            According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS),  the number of tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first nine months of 2010 rose 12.26 percent to 5.19 million from the same period last year.           In September 2010 alone, 560,367 foreign tourists visited Indonesia, up 13.48 percent from the same month last year, BPS chief Rusman Heriawan said recently.          But the figure represented a 4.46 percent decline compared to August 2010, he said.          "The decline in the number of tourist arrivals in September was particularly caused by seasonal factors because September is a low season," he said. Yet, if the first semester of this year is compared with that of last year, there have been positive developments. The positive developments in the country's tourism are reflected in the foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of this year which have increased about 14 percent from that in the corresponding period a year earlier.          With the achievements in the first semester, the country's tourism officials are upbeat that Indonesia would be able to meet or even exceed its foreign tourist arrivals target of 7 million this year.            Tourism officials are planning to raise Indonesia's foreign tourist arrivals target to 7.6 million next year.  They made the plan after seeing that in the first half of 2010, a total of 3.38 million had visited Indonesia, while in fact it was a low season during this period.            "It is a very good figure because the January-July period is a low season, yet we are able to book a good number," I Gde Pitana Brahmananda, overseas tourism promotion director of the Ministry of Tourism, said meanwhile.            He said that the arrivals of 3,380,544 foreign tourists in the country in the first half of this year was a good omen for the country's tourism development and made him convinced that the target of 7 million arrivals would be exceeded.           According to  Noviendi Makalam, the government will therefore have the reason to increase its foreign tourist arrivals target from 7 million this year to 7.6 in 2011.          "We have an optimistic scenario where we will raise our target for foreign tourist arrivals in 2011 to 7.6 million" Noviendi said.  But the tourism directorate general is also setting a moderate target of 7.3 million and a pessimistic target of 6.8 million.     (T.A014/A/HAJM/19:51/H-YH) 16-12-2010 20:37:2