Govt sets tourism 2005 on China, India, Mideast

Govt sets tourism 2005 on China, India, Mideast

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will target tourists from China, India and the
Middle East to increase revenue from the sector next year and
reach its target of six million visitors and US$6 billion in
foreign exchange.

State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik announced
recently that only 80,000 tourists from China visited the country
in 2004, a stark difference from the 700,000 visiting Singapore.

Therefore, Jero said, his office planned to cooperate with the
Singapore Tourism Board to make attractive packages that include
Indonesia, for example three days in the city-state followed by a
week in the archipelago.

Another step to be taken is the establishment of an
immigration office in the Indonesian Consulate in Guangzhou
following two years of preparation.

"The representative office will start issuing visas in
February," said Jero.

Another immigration office will be opened in Shanghai, another
city with a high number of globe-trotters. The opening of these
representative offices is expected to bring a dramatic increase
in arrivals from China.

To promote Indonesia's beauty to the people in the Middle
East, the tourism office will work with the Ministry of Manpower
and Transmigration to distribute brochures in Arabic through
migrant workers.

"About 3,000 workers go to the Middle East every month. When
their employers ask them where they're from, the workers can show
them the brochures," said Jero.

A memorandum of understanding between the two institutions
will be signed later this week.

Indonesia has experienced difficulty in luring foreigners
after the 2002 bombing on the paradise island of Bali.

A blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in
October last year proved to be another blow, especially after the
United States, several European countries and Australia issued
repeated warnings against traveling to the country.

The number of foreign arrivals in general, however, is
increasing. In the first 10 months of 2004, some 3.8 million
people entered the country through 13 ports, generating
approximately $3.9 billion in foreign exchange.

"We are optimistic that our targets for the year -- 5.3
million visitors and $5 billion in forex revenue -- will be
reached," said Jero.

As part of the 100-day program of the new administration, the
government is also considering revising the controversial
visa-on-arrival policy, in that visa validity may be increased
from three days to seven days and from 30 days to 60 days. The
fee may also be reduced from $35 to $25.

Jero said that the number of visa-on-arrival counters at
Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport would be increased from 10 to 22 to
prevent long queues, adding that the counters would eventually
total 30.

The visa-on-arrival policy was introduced in February last
year and the number of countries whose citizens are eligible was
cut from 60 to 21. The government waives visa for tourists from
nine other countries -- mostly other members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations -- on the basis of reciprocity.

Foreign tourism development in Indonesia

Year Number of tourists Foreign exchange

(in million) (in billions of US$)

1997 5.185 5.321

1998 4.606 4.331

1999 4.728 4.710

2000 5.064 5.741

2001 5.154 5.411

2002 5.033 4.496

2003 4.428 4.000

2004* 5.300 5.000

*estimated

Source: The office of State Minister of Culture and Tourism