Government names 2002 year of ecotourism

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has declared 2002 as national "Ecotourism Year" in an effort to put some life back into the country's tourism sector.

A statement issued on Tuesday following a meeting of senior economic ministers led by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Tjakti said that "the meeting agrees that Ecotourism Year should be a mutual priority for all ministries and government agencies."

All activities must be based on public participation and promotion must involve non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as partners, the statement said.

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) had earlier declared 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism.

A summit on world ecotourism will be held in Canada in May this year.

The government statement said that the development of tourism would be focused on tourist destinations that had easy access to airports, seaports and transportation networks.

It would also focus on high-density destinations so as to increase the country's competitiveness in luring international visitors, the statement added.

Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardika said during the meeting said that Indonesia would take advantage of the campaign to develop ecotourism in the country.

Ardika said that the government would avail of the ministerial meeting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development slated to be held from May 27 to June 6 in Jakarta to promote ecotourism in the country.

"At least 6,000 representatives from governments and non- governmental organizations from all over the world will attend the summit. Jakarta has to prepare ecotourism destinations and other tourism facilities," he said.

It would help sell our tourism package, he added.

Tourism has always been one of Indonesia's major revenue sources.

According to Ardika, although last year's 5.2 million visitors fell short of the targeted 5.4 million, the country nevertheless earned US$5.4 billion in foreign exchange.

This exceeded the target of $5.2 billion.

The slump in the tourism sector was the result of a number of factors, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.