Tourist industry to become largest forex earner
Tourist industry to become largest forex earner
JAKARTA (JP): The tourist industry will be the country's
biggest foreign exchange earner by the end of the Seventh Five
Year Development Plan (Repelita VII) period, State Minister of
National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita says.
"We have already set the goal in the foreign exchange
earning," Ginandjar said at the opening of a three-day workshop
of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
yesterday.
He said that by the end of the Repelita VI period in 1999, the
tourist industry is expected to rank fourth after oil, gas and
textiles in foreign exchange earning.
Data at the Central Bureau of Statistics show that the ranking
of the tourist industry in foreign exchange earnings among the
non-oil sectors steadily moved up from fifth in 1985 to third in
1992. In 1985, the tourist industry, with foreign exchange
earnings of US$525 million, ranked fifth behind timber with
earnings of $1.19 billion, rubber with $726 million, textiles
with $559 million and coffee with $556 million.
In comparison, Indonesia gained $6.06 billion from textile
exports and $5.47 billion from timber exports last year.
The Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications said that
the country gained $3.35 billion from foreign tourists in 1993.
Ginandjar, who is also chairman of the National Development
Planning Agency, said that in 1998, Indonesia expects some 6.5
million visitors, bringing in about $8.9 billion in foreign
exchange.
"The figure is far lower than Malaysia's rate in 1993 when
tourist arrivals in that country reached 6.8 million," he said.
He admitted that there are many obstacles in the development
of the tourist industry in Indonesia, which have caused it to lag
five years behind Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.
Ginandjar urged that tourist sector infrastructure be
developed quickly to move Indonesia's industry ahead. He also
called for more attention to the quality of the people manning
the sector.
"The most important factor actually is the quality of human
resources," he said.
He acknowledged that bureaucratic procedures also hamper the
progress of the tourist industry.
Telecommunications
During the three-day workshop, Minister of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications Joop Ave is expected to sign a fundamental
technical plan, which is expected to regulate the fast growing
telecommunications business in Indonesia.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria said
that because Indonesia has now more than one telecommunications
operator for both domestic and international services, there
should be a regulation on the standards and quality of networks.
The workshop, focusing on the ministry's five-year programs,
will also discuss the establishment of Indonesia Incorporated,
which comprises both state-owned and private telecommunications
companies for telecommunications projects in Cambodia, Vietnam
and Myanmar. Those countries are believed to offer major project
opportunities for Indonesia. (icn)