The Ministry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia is looking at highlighting newer destinations besides Bali to the India market. These destinations include Yogyakarta, Lombok, Surabaya and Batam. Apart from MICE, the destination has been receiving a growing number of groups and honeymoon travellers from India. Speaking at the recently held Sales Mission Indonesia to India, organised by The Ministry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia and Visit Indonesia Tourism Organisation – India in Mumbai, Saut Siringoringo, consul general, Consulate General of The Republic of Indonesia, informed, “Indian travellers know only Bali as a destination due to the religious and cultural similarities. We see India as a huge potential market to attract more number of travellers, and hence we are looking at aggressively promoting newer destinations and experiences that Indonesia has to offer. In 2014, Indonesia received 2,34,000 tourists from India, and this year, our target is to attract 2,40,000 tourists.” The new trends highlighted by travel agents based out of Bali included the growth of group movements to Indonesia and the length of stay increase from two days-three nights to five days-six nights. Apart from this, there has been a growing demand for villa accommodations by travellers.
Continuing further, he said, “We are looking at offering experiences related to spa therapies, handicrafts and gastronomy, apart from culture and heritage, adventure and more. My target is now people-to-people contact. Apart from the Tier I and Tier II cities, we have been seeing a growing interest from travellers in smaller cities in India wanting to explore Indonesia. As of now, India is on the seventh position of our source markets, as most of the others are from Asian countries. In Jakarta itself, we have 40-50 golf courses, and there we see huge tourist arrivals from South Korea and Japan.” From January to May this year, about 109 visas have been issued on arrival.