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)