RI tourist office in China

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)