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)