Indonesia intensifies tourist promotion drive in 15 states
Indonesia intensifies tourist promotion drive in 15 states
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will intensify tourism promotion in 15
major countries in order to reach the target of 6.5 million
visitors with total spendings of US$8.9 billion by the end of the
Sixth Five Year Development Plan (Repelita VI) in 1999.
Director General of Tourism Andi Mappi Sammeng told a workshop
on tourism here last week that intensive promotion will be
launched in six countries in Asia, including South Korea, Japan,
Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong; four countries in
Europe, including the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany;
Australia and New Zealand; the United States and Canada.
The two-day workshop, opened by Minister Joop Ave, was
attended by officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), the
National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), local
governments, executives from airlines, travel agents and the
Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board (BPPI).
Through BPPI Indonesia is currently conducting an aggressive
promotion under the Visit Indonesia Decade program launched by
the government early this year.
BPPI has set a budget of $14.4 million in the ongoing fiscal
year for various promotional programs which include advertising
on the American CNN, Star TV of Hong Kong, and a cable television
station in Germany. The broadcasting will be started next month.
According to data from the Directorate General of Tourism,
visitor arrival in Indonesia reached 2.6 million in 1991 which
increased to 3.1 million in 1992. There were about 3.4 million
tourists visiting the country, bringing in $3.35 million in
foreign exchange last year.
Indonesia, expecting about 3.9 million visitors coming to the
archipelago this year, offers free visas to foreigners from 46
countries including Austria, Australia, Canada, Egypt, the
Maldives and South Korea.
Meanwhile data from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications released over the weekend showed that foreign
tourist arrivals in Indonesia rose by 22.3 percent to 999,172
during the first four months of this year, compared with 817,084
the same period in 1993. Foreign exchange derived from the
foreign visitors during the period totaled $1.17 billion.
In April alone, visitors increased by some 23.2 percent to
256,956 from the same month last year. (icn)