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Tag: Holiday

  • Australia leads top ten sources of tourist arrivals in Bali

    Australia leads top ten sources of tourist arrivals in Bali

    Australia led the ten top sources of tourist arrivals in the resort island of Bali in the January-September 2016 period, an official said.

    “The number of Australian tourists visiting Bali in the first nine months of this year reached 850,326, up 16.85 percent from 727,678 in the same period last year,” chief of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in Bali, Adi Nugroho said here on Sunday.

    Most of the Australian tourists traveled to Bali by direct flights. Only 18,554 of them went to the island by cruise liner.

    More and more Australians visited Bali as they regarded it as their “second home”, he said.

    Australia contributed 23.36 percent of the overall tourist arrivals in Bali at 3.63 million over the period, up 21.69 percent compared to the same period last year when the figure was recorded at 2.99 million.

    Adi Nugroho said nine of the ten top sources of tourist arrivals in bali saw a significant increase in the number of tourist arrivals in Bali. Only the number of Malaysian tourists fell 6.64 percent to 138,203 from 138,203.

    Meanwhile, China occupied the second place with 35.84 percent of the total budget fund.

  • Indonesia expects 250,000 Taiwanese tourists

    Indonesia expects 250,000 Taiwanese tourists

    Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei (KDEI) is expecting more than 250 thousand tourist arrivals from Taiwan to Indonesia by the end of 2016.

    “In 2015, the number of Taiwanese tourists visiting Indonesia was 211 thousand. Hopefully, by the end of this year, this number will increase as we are also actively promoting tourism under the Wonderful Indonesia brand,” KDEIs Tourism and Transportation Director Agung Sepande said here on Monday.

    He noted that about 70 percent of Taiwanese tourists travel to Bali as the island is perceived as an attractive place and has various sites of tourist interest.

    To attract more Taiwanese tourists, the KDEI is promoting tourist sites in other areas, too.

    “We are inviting Taiwanese journalists to support this promotional exercise. We will take them to Bali and Lombok. Next year, journalists will visit Jakarta and Yogyakarta,” Agung pointed out.

    He noted that Taiwanese tourists in Indonesia want to dive and surf because the countrys beaches are very scenic and conducive to these activities.

    At the Asia Pacific Culture Day 2016 held by Taiwan some time ago, Indonesia had promoted culture and maritime tourism to thousands of visitors from more than 20 countries.

    Taiwan itself is a tourist destination with a variety of sites that accentuate cultural, culinary, shopping, romantic and ecological aspects.

    In Taiwan, travel guides divide the country into North, South, Central, East and the part outside the Formosa Island.

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  • Number of Chinese tourists to Bali shoots up 36%

    Number of Chinese tourists to Bali shoots up 36%

    The number of visits by Chinese tourists to Bali shot up 35.84 percent to 741.740 in the first nine months of this year from 546,035 visits in the same period last year.

    “The number of visits by holiday makers from China is now the second largest after those from Australia, which has continued to top the list of 10 largest countries of origin of foreign visitors to Bali,” head of the regional branch of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Adi Nugroho said here on Saturday.

    Adi said currently China accounts for 20.38 percent of the number of visits by foreign tourists to Bali.

    There were 3.63 million of visits by foreign tourists to Bali in the January-September period this year or an increase of 21.69 percent from 2.99 million in the same period last year.

    Adi Nugroho Australia contributed 23.36 percent to the total; number of foreign visits to Bali. Japan was the third place contributing 4.94% followed by Britain accounting for 4.52 percent, India for 3.57 percent, France for 3.56 percent, Malaysia 3.55 percent, the United States 3.44 percent, South Korea 3.04 percent, and Germany for 3.22 percent.

    He said the increase in the number of tourists from China was attributable to improved economic condition of the worlds most populous country and second largest economy.

    In addition, the countrys flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has provided direct flight between Bali and a number of cities in China such as Shanghai, Baijing and Guangzhou since 2015.

    China has become a target for market expansion by Garuda Indonesia for its international services.

    More than 100 Chinese travel abroad every year making that country the most potential tourist market which would benefit airlines.

    Chinese Consul General in Denpasar, Bali, Hu Yinquan, asked the government to provide sufficient interpreters for Mandarin to facilitate Chinese visitors, who could not speak in English.

    Hu Yinquan also asked that Mandarin also included in signposts as he believed more Chinese tourist would visit Bali in the coming years.

    In Manado, North Sulawesi, Chinese made up around 50 percent of foreign visitors in the third quarter of this year.

    “Chinese guests contributed 50 percent to the occupancy rate of the Lion Hotel and Plaza Manado,” says Sales Marketing Manager of Lion Hotel and Plaza Manado Anatje Pingkan Pinaria.

    Indonesia, however, is still far lagging behind Thailand in attracting Chinese holiday makers.

    Altogether, Indonesia recorded 8.36 million visits by foreign tourist until September this year or an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year.

    Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said earlier this week, the increase gave greater optimism that the target of 12 million visits by foreign tourists to the country this year would be achieved.

    “In three consecutive months – July-August and September, the number of visits by foreign tourists exceeded one million. We hope that the number would be larger in October, November and December,” the minister said.

    In September, there were 1,006,653 foreign tourist visits or an increase of 9.40 percent year-on-year from 920,128 in the same month last year, he said in a statement.

    Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) and the Tourism Ministry, the number of foreign tourist visits in the first nine months of the year was 8,362,963 or 8.51 percent higher than 7,707,034 visits in the same period last year.

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  • Business council expects 100 thousand Russian tourists to Indonesia

    Business council expects 100 thousand Russian tourists to Indonesia

    Russia-Indonesia Business Council expects an increase in the number of Indonesian tourists to Russia and vice versa in 2016 and the coming years, in order to strengthen relations and economic cooperation between the two countries.

    A statement from the Russia-Indonesia Business Council received by ANTARA here on Thursday said that tourism was a topic of particular concern at the annual Business Forum held on October 31 in Jakarta.

    Mikhail Kuritsyn, the CEO of Russia-Indonesia Business Council, expected 100 thousand Russian tourists to visit Indonesia in the coming years, and 18 thousand Indonesian tourists to visit Russia in 2016.

    He also called for the diversification of tourism in Indonesia, so that Russian tourists would not only visit Bali Island but also other tourist destinations, which are spread across various islands in the country.

    Direct flights from Jakarta to Moscow will be the first step in enhancing the tourism cooperation.

    The national flight carrier, Garuda Indonesia, is expected to become the operator for Indonesia – Moscow flight before the second quarter of 2017.

    The Russia-Indonesia Business Forum was attended by the Russian Federation Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov; the Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti; the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Darmin Nasution; and the Russian Federation Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Indonesia, Mikhail Galuzin.

    The forum was participated by 150 delegates from Indonesian companies and 100 representatives from Russian companies, including Russian Railways, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Rosneft, Rusal, Rusnano and Rostech.

    The Russia-Indonesia Business Council is a non-governmental organization which was established to bring together Russian and Indonesian businesses.

    Its main mission was to develop a mutually beneficial business relationship in order to strengthen and expand economic trade, investment and scientific cooperation between the two countries.

  • Indonesia Sees 8.5% Increase of Tourists until September ThisYear

    Indonesia Sees 8.5% Increase of Tourists until September ThisYear

    Indonesia recorded 8.36 million visits by foreign tourist until September this year or an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year.

    Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said here on Thursday the increase gave greater optimism that the target of 12 million visits by foreign tourists to the country this year would be achieved.

    “In three consecutive months – July-August and September, the number of visits exceeded one million. We hope that the number would be larger in October, November and December,” the minister said.

    In September, there were 1,006,653 foreign tourist arrivals or an increase of 9.40 percent year-on-year from 920,128 in the same month last year, he said in a statement.

    Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) and the Tourism Ministry, the number of foreign tourist visits in the first nine months of the year was 8,362,963 or 8.51 percent higher than 7,707,034 visits in the same period last year.

    In September, significant increase was recorded in the number of visits of tourists from Bahrain, up 46.84 percent, Egypt up 42.86 percent, China up 28.08 percent, India 26.61 percent, and France 18.92 percent.

    In the nine months period until September this year, the highest increase was recorded in the visits of tourist from Egypt up 48.72 percent, Bahrain up 46.33 percent, India 28.90 percent, China 24.15 percent, and France 23.15 percent.

    Minister Arief Yahya said international events would be increased especially in main gates – Bali, Jakarta, and Batam. in a bid to increase the number of visits of foreign tourists toward the end of the year.

    “Bali plans to organize tens of year end events to increase the number of visits . This year, Bali hopes to chalk up 4.8 million visits by foreign tourists or 45 percent of the total number of foreign visits to the country,” Arief Yahya said.

    Similarly, Bintan of the Riau Islands, which in November-December 2016 would host a number of events such as international sport tourism and entertainment to attract visitors especially from Singapore and Malaysia.

    This year Great Batam/Bintan hopes to chalk up 2.5 visits by foreign tourists.

    Arief said the island of Bintan is one of more potential tourist destinations in frontier areas, beside Manado, Papua, Entikong, and Atambua.

    The tourism Ministry has launched intensive promotional campaigns by organizing cultural festivals in a number of areas to attract foreign tourists in border areas.

    Recently the ministry held a Festival of Wonderful Indonesia (FWI) in Aruk, sub-district of Sajingan Besar, regency of Sambas, in West Kalimantan to attract visitors from Negeri Serawak, Malaysia.

    The tourism ministry, however, has focused more on luring larger number of Chinese tourist to visit the country. China has become the worlds largest tourism market.

    Earlier, Arief said Indonesia had been lagging behind in taking advantage of the Chinese market.

    Indonesia has succeeded only in recording 1.2 million or one percent of outbound Chinese, falling far behind Thailand, which already succeeded in attracting 8 million visits by Chinese tourists year.

    Therefore, the Indonesian Tourism Ministry has teamed up with Baidu, the largest Chinese searching engine company called as “Chinese Google” to create a program to promote tourism destinations in Indonesia.

    Baidu could create many programs to promote Indonesian tourist destinations from upstream to downstream , from branding , advertising to selling, Arief said.

    “It promised to increase the number of Chinese visitors to Indonesia up to 10 million arrivals in 2019,” Arief, who visited China recently, said.

    The 10 million arrivals of Chinese tourist would means 50 percent of the governments target of 20 million in number of foreign tourist visits to the country in 2019.

  • Holiday Season in Hong Kong: Good for Sales, Good for Theft

    Holiday Season in Hong Kong: Good for Sales, Good for Theft

    With the holiday season fast approaching, a study report reveals that retailers around the world will experience both their highest sales and shrink distributions during this period. According to the 2016 Retail Holiday Season Global Forecast, 30% of the losses Hong Kong retailers incur due to internal and external theft will come during the holiday season, with apparel, children’s toys and electronics emerging the favourites among thieves.

    Theft from internal sources (primarily via employee theft and other sales reducing activities) and external factors (primarily via shoplifting/organized retail crime), which is referred to as shrink by retailers, is at its peak during the holiday season, which also sees 27% of annual retail sales of a retailer in Hong Kong .

    The study, underwritten by an independent grant from Checkpoint Systems , Inc., was carried out by Ernie Deyle , a retail loss prevention analyst, and provides an analytical view of business risks that major retailers face during this holiday season. The 13 markets covered in the report include North America , Europe and Asia , and include the U.S., Belgium , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Portugal , Spain , UK, Australia , mainland China , Hong Kong and Japan .

    Mark Gentle , Vice President — Merchandise Availability Solutions Asia Pacific, Checkpoint Systems, said, “Building holiday inventories earlier and specifically for high-risk items may lead to increased sales reduction pressures, such as markdowns and shrink throughout the fourth-quarter. The report reveals that nearly 30% of sales reducing activities are incurred during this time period. This leads to increased shrink, and puts additional strains on brick-and-mortar retailers already reeling from an ongoing inhospitable retail market.”

    Even though Hong Kong has the lowest proportion of Q4 losses due to shrink of all the 13 markets surveyed, it is still significant and over 30% higher than during the first two quarters of the year.

    In addition, the cost of retail loss to Hong Kong shoppers in 2016, as absorbed or passed on from retailers, is expected to be HK$175 per person on average, of which HK$53 , or one-third, will be incurred during the holiday season. These increases in losses place an enormous burden on retailers and, ultimately, on honest consumers who pay for it in higher prices.

    “For most retailers, wholesalers and distributors, inventory — including the space to store it — is the largest single cost of doing business. While reducing inventory means lower costs, insufficient inventory leads to out of stock situations, lost sales and unhappy customers. Therefore balancing these two factors is critical to profitability and growth, particularly in omni-channel environments,” said Mr. Gentle.

    “The use of advanced data analytic tools, inventory management strategies, along with technologies such as RFID will provide retailers with enhanced visibility to track merchandise as it moves through the supply chain to distribution centers, retail backrooms and store shelves, helping retailers reduce losses due to shrink and other causes, ultimately increasing the financial contribution of each item.”

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  • Hotel occupancy rates increase in Bali

    Hotel occupancy rates increase in Bali

    The occupancy rates of star rated hotels in Bali averaged 72.40 percent in August or an increase of 1.76 percentage points from 70.62 percent in the previous month.

    “The occupancy rate was quite encouraging when visits by foreign tourists shrank 9.52 percent in Bali compared with the previous month,” head of the Bali branch of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Adi Nugroho said here on Wednesday.

    Adi said the occupancy rates would boost hotel operators as an occupancy rate of 50 percent is enough to cover operating cost including salaries of employees.

    In August, 2016, Bali recorded 438,135 visits by foreign tourists including 437,929 arrivals recorded by the Ngurah Rai airport and 206 arrivals at seaport.

    The number of arrivals dropped 9.52 percent in August from July but an increase of 44.3 percent year-on-year, Adi said.

    Adi said most foreign tourists stayed at star rate hotels in six of nine regencies in the province.

    The highest occupancy rate was recorded by hotels in the regency of Badung averaging 75.38 percent or up from July, followed by hotels in the city of Denpasar averaging 66.34 percent though declining from the previous month.

    Hotels in the regency of Gianyar followed in the third place with occupancy rate averaging 60.01 percent , down from 66.84 percent in July , the regency of Buleleng recorded an occupancy rate of 57.69 percent up from 52.23 percent and the regency of Karangasem 47.45 percent, down from 50.92 percent.

    Three other regencies – Jembrana, Bangli and Klungkung – have no star rated hotels . They have only inns or non standard hotels.

    Four star hotels recorded the highest occupancy rate averaging 78.16 percent, followed by five start hotels averaging 77.31 percent, one start hotels 64.96 percent , three start hotels 58.55 percent and two star hotels with occupancy rates averaging 56.31 percent.

    Adi Nugroho said despite the significant increase in the occupancy rate. the increase was recorded only in the regencies of Badung and Buleleng.

    In three other regencies, hotel occupancy rates declined including in the city of Denpasar, regencies of Gianyar and Karangasem, Adi Nugroho said.

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  • Healthy spread sought in tourism investment

    Healthy spread sought in tourism investment

    The government will likely need to review its strategy in promoting its priority tourist destinations, as data shows that recent tourism investment mainly headed to just two popular regions.

    During the first six months of this year, the country has seen investment worth US$858.7 million coming into the tourist sector. The tourism Ministry’s deputy for destination and tourism industry development Dadang Rizki Ratman, however, said most of the investment only went to Jakarta and Bali, the country’s two main international gateways.

    “This is our challenge — to encourage investors to invest outside those two places,” he said recently.

    Dadang highlighted the importance of infrastructure development and upgrades in many other tourist destinations as it would become a key factor to attract investors to put their money to the industry.

    The government is targeting the arrival of 20 million foreign tourists in 2019. This year, 12 million foreign tourist arrivals has been targeted, with almost half achieved in the first semester.

    To level out the popularity of other places with that of Bali, the country’s most popular resort island, the government has selected 10 destinations to develop to 2019.

    They include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Mount Bromo in East Java, Mandalika resort area in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Cape Kelayang in Bangka Belitung, Cape Lesung in Banten and Morotai in Maluku.

    Dadang said infrastructure, such as roads, airports and power plants were in the works to support tourism activities and attract more investors. The Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi toll road, for example, was in progress and scheduled for completion next year. The road would give more access to Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake.

    Besides accessibility, intensive promotion was also necessary, said Babar Suharso, the head of regional Investment Coordinating Board (BKPMD) of Banten province.

    “People can access Cape Lesung wthin only three hours but we still haven’t got any investors so we’ve asked Kadin [Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry] to introduce us to their network,” he said.

    BKPMD Banten said a number of South Korean investors had expressed their interests to invest in the location, but none have further approached the regional administration. Investors from Kuwait will visit the cape in November for a potential deal, Babar said.

    Meanwhile, Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Association (Asita) chairman Asnawi Bahar emphasized accessibility as an important point to attract more investors.

    “It is understandable that investment is still concentrated in Bali and Jakarta because the two have international airports with many international routes. One thing for sure to attract more investors is accessibility,” Asnawi told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

    Recently, the government announced a $300 million loan from the World Bank to expedite infrastructure development in and around Borobudur Temple, Mandalika and Lake Toba.

    Nevertheless, the natural beauty of sites in Indonesia has inevitably swayed a group of businesspeople in Perth, Australia to invest in Manado, North Sulawesi, whose Bunaken island is famous for its diving spots.

    “[The investment plan in] Manado is a very large ambition. It is a big tourism area so this group of companies running different businesses plan to turn it into a new destination,” said Debnath Guharoy, president of Australian Indonesian Business Council (AIBC) said via phone.

    The group will present its detailed plan to North Sulawesi administration in the next few weeks. They are planning to build hotels, power plants and a waste management system, as well as a conservation area for Bunaken underwater park.

    Indonesia boasts 17,000 islands blessed with beautiful coastline and inland potential, plus a big market of more than 259 million people. To propel its tourism industry, the country has also offered free visas to 169 countries and simplified yacht and cruise arrival rules.

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  • Government Proposes Business Travel Card for Indian Ocean Countries

    Government Proposes Business Travel Card for Indian Ocean Countries

    The Chairman of the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), who is also the Deputy Head of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Division at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Yugi Prayanto, has proposed to introduce a business travel card for all members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

    “The IORBF needs to come up with a concrete initiative to improve economic cooperation and business in the Indian Ocean region,” Yugi said here on Friday.

    He pointed out that the IORBF meeting, led by Indonesia and South Africa, aims to improve interaction and cooperation among IORAs businessmen and its dialogue partners in order to develop cooperation in economy, trade and investment in the Indian Ocean region.

    “The IORBF agrees that economic cooperation opportunities need to be explored further and these include the IORA Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IORA-CEPA ) and IORA Business Travel Card (IBTC),” Yugi noted.

    These initiatives are supported by IORA member countries, among others, South Africa, Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Mauritius.

    According to him, the forum agrees that the establishment of IORA-CEPA is very important to improve economic cooperation, trade and investment in the Indian Ocean region.

    The IORA-CEPA, Yugi pointed out, is expected to become an umbrella for IORA economic cooperation in order to increase trade and investment, open market access, develop industry as well as strengthen regional value chain and structural reforms.

    Meanwhile, the IBTC, he underlined, is expected to ensure mobility of entrepreneurs and facilitate business interaction among the IORA member states.

    “The IBTC in time will strengthen people-to-people contact, including business-to-business links among IORA member nations,” Yugi stressed, adding that the IORBF really hopes these two initiatives will be discussed at the 20th Anniversary Commemorative Summit of IORA meeting in March 2017.

    He added that the agreements reached at this meeting will be reported to the Committee of Senior Officials on October 25-26, 2016 and to the Council of Ministers on October 27, 2016.

    Forty businessmen from various IORA member countries are participating in this 22nd IORBF meeting.The IORA focuses on economic, trade and investment cooperation. It comprises 21 countries, namely, South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Comoros and Yemen.Australia passed on the chairmanship of IORA to Indonesia in 2015. Indonesia is the IORA Chairman for 2015-2017.

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  • Number of Indian tourists to Bali rises by 61.57%

    Number of Indian tourists to Bali rises by 61.57%

    The number of Indian tourists visiting Bali has increased by 61.57 percent — the highest rise among all countries — compared to the same period last year, from 72,969 to 117,897 people.

    “India ranks fifth among the top 10 countries visiting the island, after Australia, China, Japan and the UK,” Adi Nugroho, head of Balis Central Statistics Agency (BPS), said on Wednesday.

    Indian tourists constitute 3.69 percent of the total foreign tourists visiting Bali. About 3.19 million tourists have visited the destination in the first eight months of 2016. This figure is by 22.76 percent higher than the number of visitors seen during the same period last year, which was 2.6 million.

    India tops the list of countries that have seen the highest rise in the number of visitors to Bali, followed by the UK (42.56 percent) and China (35.06 percent), Nugroho said. The number of German tourists has risen by 35.05 percent, French by 31.48 percent, Australian by 18.51 percent and Japanese by 7.98 percent.

    Bali tourism practitioner Made Sudana said Bali is seeing an increasing number of Indian tourists because of the similarity between both places in terms of art, culture and Hinduism. Improved cooperation between India and Indonesia has also had a positive effect. Bali has actively pursued this as it expects more and more Indian tourists to visit the island.

    Earlier, Indonesian Ambassador to India, Rizali W Indrakesuma, said the Indonesian government is seeking direct flights to India and vice-versa. Direct flights are important as they will help increase the number of Indian tourists as well as facilitate business and investment opportunities between both countries.

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  • Bali Airport Sees Passengers Traffic Increase

    Bali Airport Sees Passengers Traffic Increase

    Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport recorded an increase in the number of passengers coming and going through the airport. In September, the airport has seen 14.8 million passengers flying from and to the airport, an increase of 16 percent from the same month last year.

    The airport’s General Manager Yanus Suprayogi said on Thursday that both domestic and international passengers’ traffics are relatively the same with 7.4 million passengers each.

    “In the last four years, the traffic growth in 2016 is the highest. In addition to the number of passengers, we also see an increase in the number of inbound or outbound cargos, as well as aircraft movement,” he said in a press release, October 6.

    Meanwhile, the airport’s cargo volume reached more than 30,000 tons, or up by 39 percent compared to September 2015’s volume. The number of aircraft movements also increased by 10 percent on a year-on-year basis.

    “We are optimistic that the number of passengers, aircraft, and cargo will continue to increase until the end of this year,” Yanus said.

    Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali recorded 438,135 foreign tourists’ visits to Bali in August 2016, of which 437,929 came in through the airport.

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  • Foreign guests of star rated hotels in Manado stay longer

    Foreign guests of star rated hotels in Manado stay longer

    Foreign guests of star-rated hotels stayed longer in Manado, North Sulawesi, the provincial office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said on Friday.

    In July, 2016, the length of stay of foreign guests of star rated hotels averaged 3.81 days , up from 3.25 days in the previous month, head of the provincial BPS Moh Edy Mahmud said here.

    Edy said the steady increase in the length of stay from month to month indicated growing number of foreign visitors to the province.

    “The more foreign visitors to the province the better for us,” he said, adding, the trend is expected to continue as the impact would be positive for the economy of the province.

    Spokeswoman of the Sintesa Peninsula Hotel Julita Wowor said the number of foreign visitors to Manado was growing especially from China.

    The number of foreign guests in the city center in Manado remained low but the length of stay is higher, she said.

    Most visitors chose to stay in suburban areas where they enjoy the natural beauty, she added.

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  • Arrivals of European tourists in Bali up 59.4%

    Arrivals of European tourists in Bali up 59.4%

    The number of European tourists arriving in Bali in this summer season increased 59.4 percent from 76,822 in June to 122,455 in July 2016.

    “The increase of European tourist arrivals is the fruit of the efforts made by the government and tourism industries in promoting Indonesia, especially Bali, in Europe and Asia,” tourism observer Dewa Nyoman Putra said here on Tuesday.

    Besides the impact of the intensive promotions and expanded security, the increase in European tourist arrivals is also triggered by the visa-free facility the Indonesian government provides for a number of countries.

    The tourism service of Bali recorded the average European tourist arrivals in Bali at some 76,000 per month.

    However, it rose to 122,455 in July, so that in the January-July 2016 period, the number of foreign tourist arrivals from Europe reached 583,463.

    Thus, European tourist arrivals in Bali account for 21.17 percent of the total foreign tourists arriving in Bali in the same period, in which 2.7 million foreign tourists visited Bali.

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  • East Nusa Tenggara proposes flights on Kupang-Dili-Darwin route

    East Nusa Tenggara proposes flights on Kupang-Dili-Darwin route

    The Tourism and Creative Economy Office of East Nusa Tenggara Province has suggested to the Ministry of Transportation to start the Kupang-Dili-Darwin flight route.

    “The flight route will increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals in East Nusa Tenggara and other regions in Indonesia,” Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Office of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Marius Jelamu, stated here on Thursday.

    He noted that the Kupang-Dili-Darwin flight route is, so far, unavailable. Hence, foreign tourists keen on visiting the province have to take a flight via Jakarta or Denpasar to Komodo airport in Labuan Bajo or El Tari airport in Kupang.

    Until mid 80’s there were international commercial route between Kupang and Darwin in Australia.According to Jelamu, the flight route should be considered as the three destinations are located in proximity to each other.

    “East Nusa Tenggara shares its borders with Timor Leste, and it is close to Australia. If there is a flight connecting the three destinations located in three different countries, then the transportation and communication lanes will be smoother,” Jelamu affirmed.

    Starting a transportation lane from one country to East Nusa Tenggara would help the province boost its economic growth, especially in the tourism sector.

    “It will ease travel for the foreign tourists from Timor Leste and Australia planning to visit East Nusa Tenggara and other regions. Moreover, the visa-free policy will facilitate the flow of tourists into the province,” he stated.

    He noted that the Indonesian flight carrier Garuda Indonesia could seize this opportunity as the market will always exist.

    “The flight carrier should not harbor concerns as passengers are always available,” he added.

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  • Direct India-Indonesia flights necessary to attract more Indian tourists

    Direct India-Indonesia flights necessary to attract more Indian tourists

    The Indonesian Tourism Ministry believes that direct flight from and to India could increase the number of Indian tourist arrivals in Indonesia.

    “The main challenge is direct flights as the existing ones are just transit flights from and to India,” Dody Prianto, assistant deputy director of the Tourism Ministry, noted here.

    Prianto was in Kolkata, India, for a roadshow to promote “Wonderful Indonesia,” the tourism brand of the country, at a hotel in the city, with the objective of attracting more tourists from India.

    He hoped airlines, such as Garuda Indonesia, would be interested in operating direct flights between India and Indonesia.

    To draw more Indian tourists to Indonesia, the ministry is intensifying tourism promotion to introduce other tourist destinations apart from Bali.

    He mentioned Sumatra as one of the interesting places for Indian tourists to visit as it is located near Singapore, and its culinary dishes bear similarities to those in Indonesia.

    The Tourism Ministry has set a target of attracting at least 350 thousand Indian tourists this year.

    “The target is quite high, but we are optimistic that it can be achieved,” Prianto stated.

    During the first semester of this year, a total of 185,911 Indian tourists had visited Indonesia, he said on the sidelines of a sales million event.