Govt says tourism industry continues to grow

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Natuna, Riau Islands

The government acknowledged that the bomb blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta could discourage foreign visitors from coming to the country, but the nation's tourism industry could still grow this year supported by domestic tourists.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said the bomb blast may not significantly affect individual tourists but could lead to declining numbers of group tours who travel to attend meetings, conferences, or exhibitions.

"Group travelers will probably drop their plans because insurance firms usually refuse to cover their trips in the event of terrorist attacks or riots. Even if they did provide cover, the premium would be really super high," he told reporters here on Saturday after opening a seminar on the Natuna economic development.

He thus called on domestic tourists to go on with their travel plans to tourist spots across the archipelago in order to show to foreign tourists that Indonesia, despite Thursday's bombing, is still worth of visiting.

"We have to show that we're still traveling and that we're not afraid or reluctant to travel. That will show them that Indonesia is still worth visiting. We should be the trigger in a situation like this," he said.

A powerful bomb exploded in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday, killing at least nine people and injuring hundreds of others. The blast followed previous attacks, including the October 2002 Bali bombing and the August 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing.

The tourism sector, which is one of the nation's biggest sources of revenue, has been struggling to recover in the past few years after a host of shocks, including the Bali bombing in 2002 and the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) last year.

Meanwhile, Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika remains confident of meeting the target of 5.1 million foreign tourists and US$5.2 billion in foreign exchange revenue by the end of the year after witnessing the industry's performance in the first semester of the year.

The government targeted an increase in tourist arrivals of 13 percent to 5.1 million this year, while in the first semester of the year, a total of 2.56 million foreign tourists arrived, up almost 31.2 percent from the corresponding period last year.

"The strong jump in the number of foreign tourists in the first half of the year is incredible in light of the fact that the target for the whole year is only a 13 percent increase. My rough calculations shows that the target can be surpassed and tourist arrivals can even reach 5.6 million," Ardika said, who was also present at the seminar on Natuna.

Ardika said he had yet to receive any information on any major cancellations by foreign tourists.

He also called on local tourists to go on with their travel plans, especially during the Idul Fitri and Christmas holiday season.