The national carrier entices golfing pros with a free sports luggage policy.
JAKARTA – Home to more than 140 golf courses back-dropped by lush jungles, deep blue oceans, dramatic landscapes and iconic city skylines, Visit Indonesia is encouraging inbound golf tourism in the archipelago with the aim to promote Indonesia as a top golfing destination in Asia.
As Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia will support the Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy’s latest effort to attract more golfers to the country by permitting a free sports bag of up to 23kg to be carried along with the standard hold and carry-on baggage. Comparatively, many other airlines’ policies currently require sports luggage to be accommodated within the checked luggage allowance. The additional 23kg sport luggage allowance that Garuda Indonesia will now offer to its passengers is part of the airline’s commitment to service improvement.
Jubi Prasetyo, General Manager UK, Garuda Indonesia, says: “Indonesia is home to some of the finest courses across the globe yet it has managed to stay under the golfing communities’ radar. Approximately 36% of our courses meet international standards and have been designed by renowned professional golfers including Greg Norman, Graham Marsh and Jack Nicklaus, so there is a lot of potential to become a strong contender for golf tourism in the continent.”
“By providing passengers with a generous luggage allowance, Garuda Indonesia hopes to support the government’s new initiative to bring in 50,000 golfers by 2014.”
Spread across 17,504 tropical islands swimming in the Indian Ocean, the world’s largest archipelago spans many diverse environments. The country’s 51 world-class golf courses are placed among impressive surroundings such as the Bintan Lagoon’s Ocean View course which boasts views of tropical jungle on the front nine holes and spectacular views of the South China Sea on the back-nine.
With Garuda Indonesia’s strong domestic network serving 34 national airports, along with its launch of the first and only non-stop service between London and Jakarta in 2014, Garuda Indonesia will make the courses more accessible to travellers, driving Indonesia to the forefront of the golf scene across the pacific region.
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