Tourism to play important role: BPS<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Based on the growth of the tourism industry over
\nthe past five years, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) is
\nexpecting the sector to play an increasingly important role in
\nthe country's economy.<\/p>\n
The bureau's chairman, Sugito Suwito, said yesterday that the
\nnumber of tourist arrivals increased by an average of 19.72
\npercent per annum between 1990 and 1995, while the country's
\nrevenues from their spending rose 26.67 percent a year.<\/p>\n
\"In 1990, there were 2.17 million foreign tourists visiting
\nthe country with total spending of US$2.1 billion. In 1995, the
\nnumber of tourist arrivals rose by 98.58 percent to 4.32 million,
\nwhile spending rose 148.34 percent to $5.22 billion,\"
\nhe said at a three-day Regional Seminar on Tourism Statistics at
\nthe office of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
\nTelecommunications.<\/p>\n
He underlined the government's hope of making the tourism
\nindustry the country's largest foreign exchange earner in the
\n2000s, replacing the oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n
Last year, Indonesia earned $9.43 billion from the oil and gas
\nsector, $5.58 billion from textile exports and $4.57 billion from
\ntimber exports.<\/p>\n
Realizing that the price of oil has steadily declined and that
\nthe markets for textiles and timber show little promise, the
\ngovernment is promoting the tourist industry.<\/p>\n
About 6.5 million foreign tourists are expected to visit the
\ncountry in 1998, spending more than $8.9 billion.<\/p>\n
The government has also been committed to attracting at least
\n11 million tourists to visit Indonesia with total spending of $15
\nbillion in 2005.<\/p>\n
The seminar, which was officially opened yesterday by Minister
\nof Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, was attended by
\ndozens of officials from various nations, and experts from the
\nWorld Tourism Organizations (WTO), which groups 46 countries.<\/p>\n
Chief of the ministry's research and development center,
\nKoenmiarto, said that the seminar, jointly held by WTO and the
\nministry, covers two geographical areas -- the East Asia and
\nPacific region and the South Asia region.<\/p>\n
The seminar, scheduled to conclude tomorrow, has attempted to
\nprovide opportunities for the attendants to exchange information
\non the methodologies used for their tourism statistics, to
\nevaluate the degree of comparability of their methodologies with
\ninternational standards and to identify ways and means of
\nimproving current tourism statistics and their comparability at
\nthe regional and international levels.<\/p>\n
A number of WTO experts -- including Enzo Paci, the chief of
\nstatistics and market research, Douglas C. Frechtling, a
\nprofessor at George Washington University, and Alan Pisarski, an
\ninternational transportation and tourism policy consultant, spoke
\nat the seminar.(icn)<\/p>",
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