High crime rate blamed for decrease in tourist arrivals<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The high crime rate is the main reason for the
\ndecrease in the number of tourist arrivals in the capital, an
\nofficial said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"The City Tourism Agency recorded 1,057,104 tourists visiting
\nJakarta in 1998, but this number dropped to 981,183 last year,\"
\nthe head of the agency, Witjaksono Muwardi, said during a
\ndiscussion on tourism at Wisma Nugra Santana on Jl. Sudirman in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He blamed the fall in tourist arrivals also on the high
\nincidence of poverty in the capital. \"Poverty is the root of the
\ncity's crime problem.\"<\/p>\n
A 1998 data at the city administration revealed there were
\n17.6 million impoverished people residing in urban centers.<\/p>\n
Witjaksono said the fall in the number of tourists visiting
\nthe city was not the sole responsibility of the City Tourism
\nAgency.<\/p>\n
\"Other parties should participate in handling the poverty
\nproblem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The city police recorded 17,817 criminal cases in 1999, which
\nis a slight drop from 1998's figure of 18,659.<\/p>\n
Witjaksono said the Office of the State Minister of Tourism
\nand Arts had proposed a program which would enhance the welfare
\nof the poor, while also reducing the crime rate.<\/p>\n
\"The program is called People-Care Tourism. Once the welfare
\nof the people increases, tourism will simultaneously increase.
\nAnd at the same time, it will reduce the crime rate,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Witjaksono said any efforts to attract foreign tourists to
\nJakarta would be futile unless the city's crime rate was first
\nreduced.<\/p>\n
\"Along with representatives of the city police, we visited
\nTaiwan in August last year to promote Jakarta as a secure city,\"
\nhe said by way of an example of the city administration's
\ninternational campaign to sell Jakarta as a tourist destination.<\/p>\n
\"It might have attracted the people of Taiwan to come here,
\nbut unfortunately a month later a Taiwan national had her hand
\ncut off during a robbery,\" he said, adding that such criminal
\nincidents thwarted the city administration's attempt to attract
\ntourists.<\/p>\n
Witjaksono also urged the media not to dramatize criminal
\ncases. \"It will deter tourists from visiting the city. The media
\nshould publish crime stories proportionally.\" (asa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-crime-rate-blamed-for-decrease-in-tourist-arrivals-1447893297",
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