Govt cuts 2002 tourist arrivals target<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has revised downward the 2002 foreign visitors
\ntarget to 5.3 million from an earlier projection of 5.8 million
\ndue to the global economic slowdown, according to a senior
\nofficial.<\/p>\n
\"This (new) number is quite reasonable for next year; we're
\noptimistic we can reach it,\" secretary-general of the Ministry of
\nCulture and Tourism Setyanto P. Santosa said at a seminar on the
\nimpact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. on the local
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
The Sept. 11 attacks have only deepened the global economic
\nslowdown.<\/p>\n
Setyanto said that the target of 5.3 million foreign tourists
\ncould still be achieved, as many people from Asian countries
\nwould change their travel destinations to \"safer\" countries in
\nthe region, including Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He said that increasing numbers of people from Singapore,
\nMalaysia, Japan, China and Australia had changed their travel
\ndestinations.<\/p>\n
He said that the government would boost promotional activities
\nin those countries, and reduce promotion in Europe and the U.S.<\/p>\n
\"We plan to boost promotion within the Asian region,\" Setyanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"It now depends on the security situation. I hope that people
\ndon't take action, which would only damage the country's image,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out, as an example, that the threats made recently
\nby certain local hard-line groups to expel Americans and Britons
\nfrom the country as a protest against the U.S.-led attacks on
\nAfghanistan had scared away foreign visitors and was detrimental
\nto the tourism industry.<\/p>\n
Reports earlier said that some 1.3 million foreign tourists
\nhad canceled their visits to the country due to security concerns
\nfollowing the incident.<\/p>\n
The government previously revised the 2001 foreign tourist
\narrivals target from 5.4 million to 5.1 million.<\/p>\n
As of September, the tourist arrivals had reached 3.5 million.<\/p>\n
Last year, tourist arrivals in the country totaled about 5.1
\nmillion, coming mainly from ASEAN countries (2.05 million
\nvisitors) and other Asian countries (1.9 million).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-cuts-2002-tourist-arrivals-target-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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