Govt to reduce 2006 tourism target

Govt to reduce 2006 tourism target

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a year marked by the tsunami that devastated Aceh, a second
attack on Bali and outbreaks of polio and bird flu, the
government has decided to revise down its target of seven million
foreign tourists for next year.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik said on Wednesday
the target was unattainable.

"It is likely that next year's tourist arrivals will be
affected by the events of this year. It would be realistic to
revise down the target from seven million to six million," he
said.

This year's target of six million foreign tourists was
similarly revised down to five million.

The latest report from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS)
shows that foreign arrivals between January and July this year
had declined by 4.08 percent to 2.45 million people, compared to
the same period of last year.

Last year, 5.3 million foreign tourists traveled to the
archipelago, generating some US$5.3 billion in foreign exchange.

Based on the report, the decline was mainly attributable to
uncertainty in the country's security condition, which has
triggered the issuance of warnings from several rich nations
against travel to Indonesia.

Other factors affecting the tourist industry include the bird
flu outbreak, which has killed five people in the country.

Jero said to accelerate the recovery of the industry, the
ministry would boost spending for international promotion from
just $3 million this year to $18 million next year.

"We will use the funds to promote our tourism destinations,
primarily in China, India and the Middle East," he said, adding
that the government recently provided visas on arrival in August
to accommodate tourists from China and India.

With the availability of visas on arrival, the government
expects to attract at least 200,000 visitors between August and
December this year, particularly to the resort islands of Bali
and Lombok.

Indonesia's tourist sector has been in the doldrums since the
first Bali bombings in October 2002, which killed 202 people,
mostly foreign tourists; followed by the bombings at the JW
Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, in August
2003 and September 2004, respectively.