JAKARTA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — The Indonesian government will present medals to foreign tourists who have visited the country at least 20 times, a senior official said Wednesday.
”We hope that by presenting the medals, we will encourage more foreign tourists to come to Indonesia,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik was quoted by the national Antara news agency as saying.
The medal presentation program for tourists was currently being processed and expected to be implemented in the very near future, the minister said.
Indonesia is planning to launch the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 and expecting to attract seven million tourists, from the estimated six million international arrivals this year.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/
November 22nd, 2007
According to the latest departure figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (5 November 2007) Indonesia is the 6th most popular destination for Australian travellers. In September 2007 approx 26,500 Australians travelled to Indonesia, representing a 42.5% increase from September 2006. Further, looking at purpose of travel, holiday travel (YTD 2007), 145,981 Australians listed holiday as their purpose of travel to Indonesia. This places Indonesia as the 5th most popular holiday destination for Australians.
The Minister of Culture and Tourism Republic of Indonesia, Mr Jero Wacik, is delighted to received the latest departure figures from Australia and is not surprised that Indonesia remains a favouraite destination for Australians. “Indonesia offers everything from a magical beach holiday in Bali, enjoying cultural diversity and heritage wonders including UNESCO World Heritage Sites Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple in Java, fantastic shopping at great prices in Jakarta and Bandung, playing great golf with no waiting and value pricing at international class courses through the country, marvelous spas with both traditional and international health and beauty treatments; and overall, a safe, family-oriented environment in an enchanting archipelago of 17,500 islands to explore.”
Mr Wacik further adds “I can personally recommend the great golfing in Indonesia as it is a sport I love, and since I am also President of the Indonesia Golf Association. I hope to see you on the links!”
BALI COMES BACK STRONGLY
According to the Indonesian government arrivals data, tourist arrivals in Bali rose 34% in the first half of 2007 to 781,059, compared to the same time period in 2006.
In the important Australian market for instance with outbound travellers averaging 4 million per annum, Australia has long been one of the most important source markets for Indonesia due to its proximity along with its close trade, investment, political, and cultural relations. Arrival numbers to Bali fell significantly after the 2002 and 2005 bombing, but the good news is this year is that the latest figures from the January – July 2007 period showed a remarkable increase of 38.5% from 102,421 in the same period in 2006 to 141,855 in 2007.
The Ministry feels some of the credit for this increase is due to the effort the Ministry and the private sector have made in communicating to the world through press conferences, travel marts, fam tours, and road shows that the situation for tourism in Indonesia has returned to normal, that all tourism destinations are functioning well.
The Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism is determined to capitalize on the opportunities offered by this welcome increase to tap a much greater share from the Australian market to achieve the planned goal of 500,000 visitors by the end of 2008.
Heightening its international profile, Bali has hosted a number of major international meetings this year, including the ASEAN Tourism Investment Forum and PATA Travel Mart in September.
As well Bali has been honoured by being chosen as the venue for the UN Conference on Climate Change, which is meeting there in December, 2007. This is a major global forum whose mandate is to continue with important negotiations that aim to extend the agreed protocols of the 1997 Kyoto Accord beyond 2012.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/
November 22nd, 2007