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Tag: tourists

  • Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia up 20 percent

    Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia up 20 percent

    The Indonesian Tourism Ministry and the China National Tourism Administration have agreed to check certain tourism operators who are unprofessional and harm tourists interests.

    “We are ready to blacklist such operators since tourism is a service-based business. Managing the tourism business ecosystem with a sense of commitment and professionalism is crucial. What is at stake is to keep the tourism business sustainable,” Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said at a meeting with the Chief of the China National Tourism Administration, Lin Jinzao, on the sidelines of the China International Travel Market (CITM) held in Shanghai from November 11 to 13.

    Travel operators and agents who violate commitment made to their customers must be dealt with sternly, he stated, adding that unprofessional tourism operators will have a detrimental impact on the future of the tourism sector.

    The China National Tourism Administration has taken several steps to control such unprofessional elements, including travel agents, as part of the efforts to make tourists feel comfortable while on vacation in China, he noted.

    “First of all, we express our gratitude to China as more and more Chinese tourists visit Indonesia,” he underlined.

    China is now the biggest source of tourist arrivals in Indonesia, overtaking Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

    “We have set ourselves the target of attracting 20 million tourists in 2019 and nearly 50 percent of them will come from China,” he disclosed.

    In this regard, he underscored the importance of stepping up tourism cooperation with China to achieve the target.

    In addition, he pointed out that his ministry will also focus on promoting the “Great China” branding which covers China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    He also invited Chinese investors to invest in the Indonesian tourism industry.

    “We invite Chinese investors engaged in the tourism sector to invest in Indonesia which offers natural and cultural attractions. Now is the time to make long-term investments in the tourism sector,” he observed.

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  • Tencent IBG helps local businesses attract tourists from China

    Tencent IBG helps local businesses attract tourists from China

    International Business Group (IBG) of Tencent, a leading provider of Internet value added services in China, announced today the roll-out of one-stop service advertising solutions. The ad solutions include options to build brand awareness and develop product familiarity, prior to the Chinese tourist’s visit to Singapore as well as in-market advertisements to target Chinese tourists while they are in the country.

    Singapore saw 1.47 million visitors from the mainland in the first half of this year, up 55.2% from the same period last year, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. Chinese tourists accounted for nearly 18% of the visitors to Singapore during this period. Aware of the untapped spending potential of these tourists, the Singapore Retailers Association recently launched initiatives such as the Singapore Golden Week, timed to coincide with the national holidays in China.

    “Singapore is well positioned to benefit from the surge in the number of Chinese tourists,” said Benny Ho, Senior Director of Business Development, Tencent. “Reaching out to Chinese tourists on platforms they are familiar with is the best approach for local businesses.”

    Brands need to engage early in the Chinese customer journey in order to influence purchase decisions before they travel. Tencent’s one-stop service advertising platforms will help Singapore businesses raise awareness and increase engagement opportunities with the surging numbers of Chinese tourists, even before they depart China. Tencent’s suite of advertising solutions provides previously unavailable opportunities for Singapore advertisers, enabling brands to engage Chinese customers globally and to offer an easy all-in-one advertising hub and solution leveraging both domestic and international traffic.

    Mobile advertising for mobile tourists

    According to the eMarketer’s survey “WeChat in China” from June 2016, the top two leading social media sites/chatting apps among social media users in China are WeChat and Qzone – both Tencent products. With WeChat’s position as a leading social media platform in China, the roll-out of one-stop service advertising solutions would empower local businesses to unlock the untapped spending potential and better reach Chinese tourists. Additionally, Tencent’s International Advertising Solutions can be customised to fit specific brand objectives.

    Tencent’s platforms continue to grow their influence with Chinese consumers. There are more than 806 million active users for both WeChat and Weixin today, and GlobalWebIndex (GWI), operator of the world’s largest study on digital consumer behaviours and trends, revealed that between the first half of 2015 and the first half of 2016, WeChat nearly doubled its usage rates in APAC outside of China. The leading mobile messaging app in China, Weixin connects users through its communication features with services and hardware through its open platform, including advertising, official accounts, and online to offline (O2O) payment. Mobile QQ, one of the most popular communication apps in China, and Mobile Qzone, a leading social networking site in China, and QQ Music, one of the most popular digital music platforms in China, will also provide the Chinese social platform gateway for advertisers in Singapore.

    To address communications and business objectives, there will be WeChat representatives to assist merchants in Singapore. Tencent’s IBG will provide a one-stop service advertising solutions including media planning, creative designs, advanced user targeting, ad placement execution, bid optimisation, and reporting.

    Tencent creates a robust ecosystem in China through these customised advertising solutions, unleashing the potential to reach high-spending Chinese consumers. Key advertising products include “WeChat Official Account Banner Ad”, which redirects users to an external URL through a single click, “WeChat Moments Ad”, unique native social feed style display ads for a non-disruptive experience and “Mobile Qzone Friend Newsfeed Ad” which manifests as either an article or a video and is shown in a similar format as friend posts. Thus far, Tencent has launched its International Advertising Solutions across, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan in Asia, excluding China.

    IBG will not have an exclusive partner in Singapore and will welcome any local partners and resellers to support marketers and advertisers.

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  • 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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  • 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.

  • Big plans in store for Indonesia tourist destinations

    Big plans in store for Indonesia tourist destinations

    As tourism slowly takes its place as a new engine of economic growth, the government is making aggressive plans to improve and promote new tourist destinations.

    Morotai in Maluku, Labuan Bajo in West Nusa Tenggara and Tanjung Lesung in Banten are three names that may sound unfamiliar to the domestic and international community, but they are among the so-called 10 emerging tourist destinations that the government expects can be as famous as Bali.

    The other seven destinations are Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java, the Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Borobudur in Central Java and Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara.

    However, raising them to Bali’s level will take a lot of work, a fact acknowledged by the government, especially as it hopes to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019.

    In its latest Indonesia Economic Quarterly report, the World Bank states that implementation of this plan will require efforts on multiple fronts and infrastructure will play a crucial role.

    Indonesia currently ranks in the bottom half of countries on several infrastructure-related tourism competitiveness indicators, such as ground and port infrastructure, tourist service infrastructure, health and hygiene, information and communications technology (ICT) readiness and environmental sustainability.

    The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, one of the government’s most strategic posts for infrastructure development, has stated that it will focus on infrastructure development for three destinations in the next two years, namely Lake Toba, Mandalika and Borobudur.

    An integrated master plan for the development is also being formulated by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry and Tourism Ministry.

    “I hope with the integrated master plan, there will be cooperation between ministries and regional governments for the development of the three destinations,” Rido Matari Ichwan, the ministry’s regional infrastructure development agency (BPIW) head, said recently.

    The government has allocated Rp 1.6 trillion (US$122.74 million) in the state budget in 2016 and 2017 for various infrastructure projects in the three destinations, including road access, water system, drinking water, waste management and housing, among others.

    Data from the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry reveals that the development plan for Lake Toba includes the construction of toll roads connecting Medan-Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi and Tebing Tinggi-Siantar-Parapat, access road to the Sibisa airport in Parapat and 14.3 kilometers of piping in Simalungun, among others.

    Development for Borobudur includes initiatives such as self-built housing development in Magelang, a toll road connecting Yogyakarta and Bawen, a regional drinking water system, and reconstruction and expansion of several roads.

    Meanwhile, Mandalika will see several works carried out, such as the Sulin bridge improvement, road expansion and maintenance, and irrigation network construction in central Lombok.

    Rido added that the ministry would also cooperate with the Transportation Ministry on the development of the airports in the new tourist destinations.

    In addition to state budget funds, the government is also seeking other funding sources. It is looking to obtain a US$200 million to $500 million loan from the World Bank to fund the infrastructure development in the three destinations.

    Discussions are taking place and the loan is expected to be ready for disbursement by July next year.

    Tourism Minister Arief Yahya previously stated that the government would also launch a limited participation mutual fund (RDPT) by next year, through which it sought to garner Rp 10 trillion to develop all 10 destinations.

    “We will use the funds to build amenities. They will be channelled first to the four special economic zones [and tourism destinations], such as Tanjung Kelayang, Tanjung Lesung, Mandalika and Morotai,” he said.

    The World Bank says the government will also need to attract private investment to finance its goals.

    Early indicators are promising, with total foreign and domestic direct investment in hotels and restaurants reaching nearly $1 billion in 2015, an increase of 45.5 percent compared to 2014, while the number of investment licenses approved in the hotel and restaurant sectors surged more than five times to 266 licenses in 2015 from 2014.

    Licensing simplification is one important aspect that will help spur more investment, according to the World Bank. “As a first step, it will be essential to establish an inventory of the number and type of business licenses needed [at the national and subnational level] to establish a tourism-related business,” he added.

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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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  • July Sees Record-high Tourist Arrivals to Indonesia

    July Sees Record-high Tourist Arrivals to Indonesia

    The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded 1.03 million foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in July 2016. The number represents a 17.67-percent year-on-year increase from July 2015.

    Compared to June 2016, the increase is 20.42 percent.

    “This is a new record, with the number foreigners entering Indonesia reaching more than a million in one month,” BPS deputy for Statistic and Distribution Sasmito Hadi Wibowo said in Jakarta Thursday, September 1.

    The achievement, he said, is largely thanks to the Tourism Ministry’s intensive campaigns in many parts of the world and the many promotional events held in domestic travel destinations.

    Sasmito said the biggest number of tourists came from China, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

  • Taiwan Eyes More than 200,000 Indonesian Tourists

    Taiwan Eyes More than 200,000 Indonesian Tourists

    Taiwan is eyeing as many as 200,000 tourists from Indonesia to visit Taiwan this year, or an increase from that in 2015, where at around 177,743 Indonesian tourists visiting Taiwan.

    Taiwan Tourism Bureau Director David Tsao said that to meet the target, it has held a tourism exhibition at Grand City Surabaya Mall & Convent on 26 to 30 August, 2016.

    “In 2015, tourists visiting Taiwan reached 10.439 million of them and 177,743 of them are Indonesian tourists,” he said in Surabaya.

    He added that one of the attractions of Taiwan’s tourism is its landscape that is different from the sights in Southeast Asian countries.

    “For example in the northern region of Taiwan precisely on the island of Li, the weather is cooler and you can find snowfall there,” he said.

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  • Madiun develops tourism villages to attract tourists

    Madiun develops tourism villages to attract tourists

    Madiun district government in the Indonesian province of East Java is making efforts to develop a number of areas into tourism villages to attract local and foreign tourists, according to an official.

    “Of all 206 villages in Madiun district, 11 have been surveyed to be developed into tourism villages to attract both local and foreign tourists,” said the head of Department of Cooperatives, Industry, Trade and Tourism (Diskoperindagta), Sawung Rehtomo, here.

    He said the 11 villages are Brumbun, Kresek, Segulung, Dolopo, Durenan, Kare, Batok, Tawangrejo, Gunungsari, Pilangrejo, and Mruwak.

    According to him, the concept of the tourism village will highlight the potential that exists in each village for sale to tourists.

    In Brumbun village, for example, tourists will have the opportunity to cruise down the beautiful riven on the slopes of Mount Wilis, or to have the sensation of picking durian fruits in Kare village.

    Rehtomo explained that the development of tourist villages will be carried out as part of efforts to build the tourism industry in Madiun district, both nature and cultural tourism.

  • 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.

  • Number of Indian tourists to Bali up 55.83 percent

    Number of Indian tourists to Bali up 55.83 percent

    The number of Indian tourists to Bali reached 92,731 people, during the first semester of 2016, up 55.83 percent from 59,509 people during last years same period.

    Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showed that the tourist arrivals from India recorded the highest increase among ten countries contributing the largest number of tourists to Bali.

    The Indian tourist arrivals constituted 4.08 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals reaching 2.27 million in Bali during the first semester, up 18.59 percent from 1.91 million in the same period in the previous year.

    The Bali Provincial Tourism Office has set a target of attracting as many as 4.2 million foreign tourists this year.

    In 2015, Bali received 4.001 million people, 6.24 percent more than previous year when 3.76 million people had arrived.

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  • Indonesia the most favorite destination for Australian tourists

    Indonesia the most favorite destination for Australian tourists

    Indonesia has so far proven to be the most favorite destination for Australian tourists, overtaking New Zealand, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema said.

    “The variety of natural wealth and beauty, culture and world-class tourist facilities that the Indonesian government offers to tourists have become special attractions for Australian tourists,” he stated in a press statement released on Saturday.

    His remarks came when the Indonesian Tourism Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Australia were conducting a promotional activity at Hotel Hyatt in Canberra recently.

    Besides helping promote mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, the tourism sector can also create jobs in Indonesia, he added.

    He underlined that he supported the program to conduct tourism promotion in several Australian cities such as Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

    The program will serve as a venue for a meeting between Australian travel agents and their Indonesian counterparts directly, he said.

    The ambassador has called on Australian tourism companies to encourage Australian citizens to visit other Indonesian tourist destinations than Bali.

    Data from the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra showed that almost 85 percent of 1.2 million Australian tourists visited Bali in 2015.

    Nadjib offered potential visitors from Australia other tourist destinations such Toraja, Lake Toba, Raja Ampat, Labuhan Bajo, Tanjung Kalayang, Seribu Islands, Borobudur Temple, Mount Bromo, Wakatobi and Morotai Island.

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  • Ministry striving to attract 400 thousand South Korean tourists

    Ministry striving to attract 400 thousand South Korean tourists

    The Indonesian tourism ministry is taking innovative steps to achieve this years target of attracting 400 thousand tourists from South Korea, including by participating in the “Wedding Expo” in Seoul on July 9-10, 2016.

    Assistant Deputy for Market Development of the Asia-Pacific region of the Ministry of Tourism Vinsensius Jemadu stated from Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, that the ministry continued to fill innovation gaps.

    “We are looking for the slightest opportunities to promote Indonesias segment aboard. It has been almost three years that we have participated in events promoting this segment, but now, we will try again,” he noted in connection with the Tourism Ministrys participation at the wedding exhibition to offer honeymoon packages to various tourism destinations in Indonesia.

    Jemadu is optimistic that its target of drawing 400 thousand tourists from South Korea would be reached.

    In 2015, a total of 359,468 South Korean tourists visited tourist destinations in Indonesia.

    Jemadu pointed out that Bali and Bintan were now the most sought-after locations for pre-wedding photographs among brides and also the venues for the weddings of young Korean couples.

    “They really like the beach and the ambience of the tropical waters in Indonesia,” he noted.

    South Korea has direct flight connectivity to Indonesia. As many as three airlines operate flights to two international airports in Indonesia, and there are some 618,748 seats available on flights to the country.

    “This exhibition is held in summer in South Korea. We hope that during winter, South Koreans will leave the country and visit Indonesia that has moderate weather and is always a good option for couples on honeymoon,” he said.

    “Of course, we did this exhibition to promote the country as a wedding destination for couples planning to wed in autumn. It is this momentum that we are pursuing,” he stated.

    Meanwhile, Head of Asia-Pacific Exhibition of the Ministry of Tourism Rita Sofia in South Korea expressed hope that all engaged in supporting the tourism sector in Indonesia will continue to prepare various attractions, amenities, and access to support the arrival of newlywed South Koreans.

    Tourism Minister Arief Yahya seconded Sofias view as he believed that Korea was a potential market that could be tapped by showcasing Indonesias cultural and natural attractions.

    “The Asian market must be tapped by showcasing the oriental culture, and the countries must be frequently visited to create a joint program. For instance, the distance from Seoul to Indonesias tourism destinations, including to Manado, is not too far, so we just need to increase the number of direct flights,” he explained.

    Yahyas recent visit to South Korea already resulted in a commitment made by the two South Korean airlines —Jeju Air and Jin Air Korea — to operate flights to Indonesia.

    “It will boost the number of South Korean tourist arrivals in the country,” he affirmed.

    Industries participating in the exhibition had also prepared a variety of honeymoon vacation packages. General Manager Globlindo Arief Authority has prepared various packages: Bali Honeymoon Escape, Lombok Honeymoon, Tanjung Lesung Honeymoon, Kepulauan Seribu Honeymoon, and Raja Ampat Honeymoon.

  • Sabang Festival expected to attract 30,000 tourists

    Sabang Festival expected to attract 30,000 tourists

    The Third Sabang Festival is expected to attract 30 thousand tourists to visit Weh Island, Head of Sabang Culture and Tourism Zulfi Purnawati has stated. The festival will be held from May 21 to 25.

    “In 2015, as many as 20 thousand tourists visited Sabang during the festival, and this year we have targeted 30 thousand tourists,” Zulfi Purnawati said here Saturday.

    During the Sabang Fair, the exhibition of appropriate technology will be also conducted.

    “As a result, some 23 contingents from the district/city will participate in the event. We are optimistic that 30 thousand tourists will visit Sabang,” Purnawati remarked.

    The implementation of the fair was intended to promote tourism in Sabang as well other destinations in Aceh district.

    Purnawati expected the contingent to utilize the annual event as part of its efforts to promote tourist destinations across Aceh.

    Delegations from North and West Sumatra will also attend the festival.

    Meanwhile, entrepreneurs in some ASEAN countries have expressed readiness to attend the festival.

    Secretary Administration of Sabang Sofyan Adam, who is also the executive chairman of the festival, said that all contingents should confirm their participation.

    “The committee has launched the enrollment drive and all contingents should report to the committee. We have also coordinated with the Sabang branch of state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia to help with the implementation of the festival,” Adam remarked.

    Earlier, the Ministry of Tourism (kemenpar) of The Republic of Indonesia stated that the success of tourism really depends on the presence or absence of comfort and hospitality of the community towards tourists at the location.

    “The comfort of a tourist is the main factor which should be of concern to a region while developing the concept of tourism. It is not just a discourse,” Directorate General, Based on Media, Design, Science and Technology in the Tourism Ministry, Harry Waluyo said here Monday.

    He stated this when opening a training course on human resources improvement for tourism at the Dharmas Indonesia University in Pulau Punjung.

    The first impression for a tourist during his or her first visit depends on the service from the local community, and that is why one needs human resources with good manners, according to him.

    “Do not let illegal fees damage tourism, that is the weakness of our community all this time while welcoming tourists,” he said.

    “Develop tourism which other regions do not have, so that there will be a main attraction for tourists,” he explained.

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