Mohit Rathod – Mumbai
The Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Indonesia is focused on increasing the footfall from the India market to Indonesia. MoT at its recently held annual sales mission in Mumbai, revealed that 262,000 Indians visited Indonesia in 2015. MoT has has set a target of attracting 350,000 Indian visitors in 2016. The event witnessed interactions between the Indonesian and Indian travel fraternity, which is expected to boost outbound travel from India to Indonesia, helping to meet the target of 350,000 Indian visitors. The event was attended by Saut Siringoringo, consul general, Indonesian Consulate General, Mumbai; and Ngurah Putra, special advisor for general affairs to MoT, Indonesia. Addressing the participants, Putra informed that the India market is highly potential for tourism in Indonesia, and that Indian outbound travel to Indonesia is increasing every year by about 15 per cent.
Indian arrivals into Indonesia is expected to get a boost due to the recent introduction of free 30-day short stay visa policy for Indian tourists. The policy is currently available only at nine entry ports in Indonesia. Siringoringo stated that direct air connectivity between the two countries is expected to start in December 2016, wherein direct flights on Delhi-Jakarta and Mumbai-Bali routes will be operated. Speaking on tourism growth, Siringoringo expressed, “We are lucky to come to India, which carries huge potential for the growth of tourism in Indonesia. India is currently the seventh biggest contributor to tourism in Indonesia. For tourism acvities to grow, introduction of new packages is very important. We have discussed with the travel trade fraternity to create new packages for golf enthusiasts, senior citizens, etc.”
Adding to the same, Putra commented, “We are going to improve infrastructure and hospitality service. Our president himself conducts one dedicated meeting on tourism every month. Film tourism is one of the important markets for us and we are putting our efforts to attract the film industry, through FAM trips for the film industry. We are also plannning to include all entry ports in the 30-day free short stay visa policy.”
The sales mission event also recognised and awarded top Indian tour operators for their contributions to outbound travel from India to Indonesia in 2015, which included Cox & Kings, SOTC, Thomas Cook, and Kesari.
