RI tourist office in China

JAKARTA (JP): The government is canceling a plan to reopen its Indonesian tourist office in Los Angeles and instead prioritizing opening one in Beijing, Minister of Art and Tourism Hidayat Djaelani said on Monday.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that Beijing was chosen because of its great market potential.

At least seven million people in China travel overseas every year, he said.

"At the moment, not even one percent of those Chinese tourists visit Indonesia. They prefer to go to neighboring countries like Singapore and Thailand," he said.

He also said the government planned to reopen tourist offices in Frankfurt and Tokyo in an attempt to restore Indonesia's image before foreign visitors.

Indonesia closed down its tourist offices in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Australia in 1998 due to the economic crisis. (cst)