Defying the previous forecasted figures of foreign tourist arrivals, the Indonesian tourism industry said that the figures will reach eight million in 2009.
The Culture and Tourism Ministry of Indonesia, revising the previous prediction of low inflow of overseas tourists on account of the global financial meltdown, said that the number is expected to increase up to 25% in 2009, as reported by m&c.
It is expected that the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia will increase by one million from the initial target, reaching eight million in 2009 from the targeted 6.4 Million in 2008. The tourism industry is anticipated to see decline in tourist arrivals from the US and European countries, but the fall will be compensated by rise in arrivals from the Middle East, China and South Korea.
The prospective rise in tourist inflow to Indonesia for 2009 is based on the well-planned strategies to boost growth in the tourism industry. The Indonesian government has planned to spend more funds on promotional activities and tourists drawing segments like health tourism and beauty tourism. The government has also planned to pay more attention on smaller islands and marine tourism. Moreover, the industry counts regular visitors who come for recreational activities like surfing, natural attractions, scuba diving and cultural pursuits as major source of income.
Besides, the tourism industry is coordinating with other parties directly related to tourist arrivals, such as international and domestic airlines, film festival organizers and banks, to raise the number of international tourists in the country.
With deepening of the global economic slowdown, the industry will come across some of the toughest challenges. Apart from this, the country is slated to hold legislative elections in April 2009 followed by the presidential election in July 2009. These two political events could create hurdles before tourists interested to visit the country.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “In spite of slowdown in the global economic, the Indonesian tourism industry is expected to witness high tourist inflow this year, thanks to the intense promotional activities and strategic planning by the government. This positive outlook will bring cheer to the industry as the monthly average of tourist arrivals at present stands at 500,000 people. The industry can also boost tourist arrivals by taking a number of steps such as easy visa facility at more international airports.”
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