Indonesia and Singapore on Tuesday agreed to boost cooperation in the field of tourism…
Indonesia and Singapore on Tuesday agreed to boost cooperation in the field of tourism, as well as to open more air routes in order to increase the number of foreign visitors to Indonesia.
According to Indonesian Minister of Transport Hatta Rajasa, the Indonesian and Singaporean governments have reached an agreement that allows Indonesia to increase flights from China, India and the Middle East. At present, just about 8 million seats are provided to those foreign visitors, who want to arrive in Indonesia each year. In order to attract 6 million foreign tourists to Indonesia this year, 12 million seats are needed.
Meanwhile, Singaporean Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said that the number of flights to some Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Medan, Denpasar, and Surabaya will increase under the bilateral tourism cooperation programme. Singapore hopes that with the increase of flights to Indonesia, both countries will increase tourism.
In recent years, the lack of security, which is the consequence of terrorist bomb attacks, has strongly affected Indonesia`s tourism. However, the country`s government took measures to improve the security situation. Indonesian tourist authorities do not have enough promotion programmes, leading to the decline in this sector.
Indonesia recently spent 11.3 million USD, or one fifth of its tourist budget for 2005, on marketing and promotion programmes. The Indonesian Lower House is also requested to spend 10 million USD on tourism development.
In 2003, Indonesia welcomed 5.3 million arrivals, earning nearly 5.3 billion USD.
