Recording 336,575 Indian arrivals in 2016, Indonesia is bullish on achieving significant growth in 2017. Indian tourist arrivals to Bali itself have been marked at 186,638 which indicated an increase of 57.61 per cent compared to 2015 and has placed India as the fifth largest international source market for Bali.
In a bid to further grow Indian tourist arrivals to Indonesia, the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia will promote other destinations, alongside Bali this year. However, a significant focus will be given to tourist arrivals to Bali, which will then drive footfalls in other destinations. “We want to work through a hub-and-spoke model. Bali brings people in the country; then we can introduce more places and attractions in Bali and other places, where there is deep sea diving and coral watching,” informed Igde Pitana, Deputy Minister for International Marketing, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia.
Saut Siringoringo, consul general, Indonesian Consulate General in Mumbai, said, “Bali is a famous destination in Indonesia, but we are promoting other destinations too and we expect air connectivity to them. Many destinations are growing in terms of tourism offerings and I urge Indians to visit other destinations once they have already visited Bali,” while adding that this year, Indonesia will be promoting 10 new destinations in the India market which include Lake Toba, Thousand Islands, Tanjung Lesung Beach, Morotai Island among others.
The Indonesian government, in its 2017 plan, has stipulated that tourism must increase international arrivals to 15 million, an increase of 25 per cent over 2016 achievements which will result in a 13 per cent share to the national GDP. By 2019, the country aims to achieve a target income of 19 per cent from tourism and 20 million international tourist arrivals.
“We are involved in a lot of campaigns. Our free visa policy will also play a crucial role in achieving these targets. We are also undertaking international airport development and are banking upon 2018 Asian Games which will be hosted in Jakarta,” added Siringoringo.
The Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia has earlier this year, also organised a travel trade show in Mumbai, as part of its efforts under the 2017 strategy.
