East Java pledges to boost tourism

East Java pledges to boost tourism

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): The East Java administration will
develop tourism facilities in the province, which are expected to
help increase both trade and investment activities, an official
said.

The marketing director of the Directorate General of Tourism,
Den Zachrie, said over the weekend that various facilities in the
province can be developed as tourist sites, such as historical
and cultural attractions, traditional markets and river
festivities.

He said the province's capital city, Surabaya, can also hold
annual conferences focusing on business and tourism with
sponsorship from its sister cities, Seattle of the United States,
Kyoto of Japan and Perth of Australia.

Chief of the East Java office of the Ministry of Tourism, Post
and Telecommunications, Rio Judojanto, said that Surabaya is now
also developing itself as a thriving business and industrial
center.

"East Java will emerge as one of the country's major tourism
destinations after Bali and Jakarta. We are developing tourism
for business, conventions and places of interest for tourists,"
he said.

He said that Surabaya has good prospects for business and
leisure because more businesses in Indonesia have opened their
headquarters in the city, while the number of hotel rooms has
increased steadily.

There are currently 47 star-rated hotels, offering
approximately 4,700 rooms, in the city with a population of 2.7
million people.

Rio also said that more foreign airlines will soon be serving
direct flights to Surabaya's Juanda airport, including those from
New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

"Currently, only three foreign airlines serve the Juanda
airport, MAS of Malaysia, SIA of Singapore and China Southern of
China, while two domestic airlines, Sempati and Garuda, serve
international routes from the airport," he said.

According to Rio the number of foreigners visiting East Java
increased from 302,739 in 1991 to 356,762 in 1992, 380,988 in
1993 and 400,000 last year.

He said that 440,000 to 540,000 foreign visitors are expected
to visit the province this year.

"Surabaya is very proud, because the government chose the city
as the site for the ceremony to greet the country's four
millionth visitor last week," he said.(icn)