INDONESIA SETS AMBITIOUS FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVAL TARGET

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 31 (Antara) - Indonesia's tourism sector is shining again, encouraging the government to set ambitious goals for the coming years after meeting its international tourist arrival targets over the past several years.          International tourist arrivals over the past few years have recorded some seven to eight percent increase. So, the government is optimistic that it will achieve its ambitious targets. It has set a target of 10 million tourist arrivals in 2015 and 20 million by 2019.          Terrorism had once hampered Indonesia's tourism sector. Incidents such as the 2002 Bali 1 bombing that killed 202 people, the JW Marriott explosion that claimed 12 lives in Jakarta, the 2004 Australian embassy blast that killed 9, and the Bali 2 bombing that killed 23 all had marred Indonesia's image as a secure nation for several years.          However, the success of the Indonesian government's fight against terrorism in the country has restored confidence among foreign tourists to visit Indonesia.          Over the past few years, the country has managed to boost its tourism sector that has recorded some seven to eight percent growth.            Last week, Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the country's tourism development in 2014 has been encouraging. So, the Ministry of Tourism has set a target of 10 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2015, or an increase of some seven to eight percent from that of 2014 figure.          The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has revealed that foreign tourist arrivals in the country this year has reached 9.3 million, which is higher than its moderate target of 9.2 million.          Therefore, the ministry is optimistic that by the end of 2014, the number of foreign tourists will rise to 9.5 million.          In 2013, Indonesia met its target of 8.6 million foreign tourist arrivals; the figure was 8.044 million in 2012.          Considering this upward trend, the minister is optimistic that foreign tourist arrivals in the coming several years will be high, and thus the target of 10 million arrivals in 2015 and 20 million by 2019 will be met.          The minister also expressed optimism with regard to the development of domestic tourism.      "The number of domestic tourists can reach 254 million. Thus, in addition to the foreign exchange of US$12.05 billion earned from international tourists, domestic tourists can contribute up to Rp201.5 trillion. This will open employment opportunities for 11.3 million people in the tourism sector," the minister noted.          He pointed out that the 2014 target achievement will be used as the basis to double the 2019 target. In macro term, with the 2019 target (20 million foreign tourist arrivals), the tourism sector is expected to contribute 8 percent to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or about Rp240 trillion, thus providing jobs for 13 million people.          Minister Arief Yahya remarked that 9.3 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia in 2014.          This has been an increase from 7,755,616 arrivals recorded between January and October 2014. In October alone, 808,767 tourist arrivals were recorded. If in November-December the arrivals grew significantly, then the target will be reached by the end of the year.          He explained that the tourism sector has contributed 4.01 percent to the GDP and earned US$10.69 billion in foreign exchange.          The sector also provided job opportunities for 10.3 million workers. Indonesia was ranked 70th in tourism competitiveness by the World Economic Forum (WEF).          But, by setting a target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2019, the competitiveness of the Indonesian tourism sector will ensure that the country will figure in the list of the big 30.          Arief Yahya observed that Indonesia has managed to increase its foreign tourist arrivals because of the efforts of Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers (VITO) based in 13 countries.          "The increase in the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia cannot be separated from the active role played by all tourism stakeholders," the minister stated.          According to Yahya, VITO has been encouraging international communities, especially from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, the Middle East, England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Russia, to visit Indonesia. VITO has established its offices in these 13 countries.          In China, VITO has two offices, one in Beijing and the other in Guangzhou. "We hope VITO will be more active in its efforts to encourage international communities to visit Indonesia. This will help us achieve our national target of 10 million tourist arrivals in 2015," the minister pointed out, adding that the target will rise to 20 million in 2019.          In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesian Tours and Travels Agency (ASITA) Asnawi Bahar said the Indonesian government's target to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 will depend on the seating capacity of airlines flying to and from Indonesia.          "We need more airlines with larger seating capacity in order to bring in 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia," Bahar stated on Saturday.          He added that the existing seating capacity was not adequate to attract 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia.          "In the future, we will have to increase the seating capacity of airlines flying in tourists from foreign countries," he reiterated.          Citing examples, he pointed out that additional seats should be added to direct flights from China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Europe.          Bahar further noted that ASITA wanted state-owned Garuda Indonesia to introduce more flight routes to countries from where most foreign tourists come and ask foreign airlines to introduce more flights to Indonesia, as well.          In a bid to increase the number of foreign tourists' visits to Indonesia, the ministry of tourism will implement a policy in 2015 to issue free visas to tourists from Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia.          In addition, the ministry will also facilitate the same for those who wish to travel via cruises to Indonesia, as part of the efforts to boost marine tourism in the country.          Furthermore, VITO, as the Indonesian representative for promoting the country's tourism potential in the international market, should focus on daily promotions through mass media and contact industrial tourism sectors, Yahya emphasized.***2*** (T.A014/INE) EDITED BY INE (H-YH) (T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 31-12-2014 17:27:2