Bird flu won't affect tourism: Minister

The government remains upbeat that the country's tourism sector will be little affected by the bird flu outbreak, the tourism minister says.

Jero Wacik said on Sunday the year's foreign tourist arrival target would remain unchanged at about six million visitors despite concerns about the effects on the industry of the avian influenza outbreak.

"I don't think bird flu will hurt tourism. This is because the virus is not transmitted from humans (to humans) but from birds. Therefore, we shouldn't worry about it," Jero said quoted by Antara in Padang, West Sumatra.

Jero said he was optimistic the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health would be able to contain the virus.

Six million foreign tourists would bring in US$5.8 billion in foreign exchange to the country.

Last year, foreign tourist arrivals reached around 5.3 million visitors, who spent about $5 billion, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) says.

For this year, the government is targeting more tourists from China, India and the Middle East.

Starting Aug. 1, the government will provide a visa on arrival facility for tourists from these regions. -- JP