New int'i gateways

New int'i gateways

JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Tourism Andi Mappi Sammeng said yesterday that the government will open four more international gateways later this year, in addition to the 19 international airports currently in operation.

"The four airports, located in Tarakan in East Kalimantan, Tanjung Pinang in Riau of southern Sumatra, Sentani and Mopah of Merauke in Irian Jaya, are on the priority list," he said, adding that the new international airports are vital to the country's tourism industry.

Indonesia operates more than 70 airports, 23 of which are commercially run as tourist gateways into the sprawling archipelago. Thirteen airports served 35 international airlines last year, while the six other airports were linked with overseas destinations by domestic airlines.

The country's five major international airports are the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar of Bali, the Juanda airport in Surabaya of East Java, the Polonia airport in Medan of North Sumatra and the Hasanuddin airport in Ujungpandang of South Sulawesi.

The country saw 4.31 million foreign visitors last year, an increase of 7.8 percent from 1994. (icn)