Yogyakarta is considered as the cradle of Javanese culture. The city offers to tourists a multitude of historical and cultural attractions and positions itself as a top destination in Indonesia. It now targets 250,000 foreign travellers in 2012.
YOGYAKARTA- Yogyakarta administration is optimistic about meeting its target of 250,000 foreign tourists by the end of the year compared to last year’s figure of 180,000 visitors.
“We are upbeat that the targeted number of tourists will be reached this year through our increased promotions,” said Yogyakarta Tourism Office head M. Tazbir on Tuesday to local newspaper Jakarta Post.
Last year, tourism contributed 20.84 percent to Yogyakarta’s economy, far greater than agriculture and manufacturing, which make up just 16.07 and 13.48 percent of the economy, respectively.
He acknowledged that the awareness of Indonesia overseas tends to be negative. The moment they hear the word Indonesia, they imagine communal violence.
“This is due to the lack of promotion,” said Tazbir. This year, he added, his office would carry out promotions together with tour operators. Bantul Tourism Office head Bambang Legowo – an area near to Yogyakarta- specifically said his office would target Thailand and some other countries like China, Japan, Malaysia and the Netherlands. “We will promote with the help of travel agents in Thailand so tourists who are vacationing there may be lured to Indonesia, especially Yogyakarta,” said Bambang. Various cultural events will be included in promotions, such as Jogja Java Carnival and Ngayogjazz.
A crucial evolution to increase tourism into the historical city is the development of air routes. So far, Yogyakarta is only linked by flights to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. AirAsia Bhd recently increased frequencies from Kuala Lumpur to two daily services.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
