UAE tourists to Indonesia up 30pc

UAE arrivals to Indonesia climbed 30 per cent between 2009 and 2010 to more than 4,900 from the previous year’s figures of 3,760, said a senior official of the government of Indonesia.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago of more than 17,500 islands, expects a further boost with tourist interest after exhibiting at the recently held tourism show Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2011, added said Sapta Nirwandar, director general of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia.
“Even though visitor numbers from the UAE are still relatively low when compared with other markets, we believe that through further ongoing cooperation between both the public and private sectors of Indonesia and the UAE, visitors from the Emirates and other parts of the region will continue to increase year to year,” said Nirwandar.
Visitors from the Middle East and other international destinations are drawn to Indonesia’s broad range of natural attractions, including unspoiled beaches and UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Java’s Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple, he added.
Overall, Indonesia’s international visitor arrivals by the end of 2010 reached more than seven million, an increase of almost 9 per cent from 2009, with total tourist revenue in excess of $7 billion and average individual visitor expenditure of $1,000.
Nirwandar attributed this growth to initiatives such as its campaign “Visit Indonesia Year 2010”, its involvement in ATM along with other regional events and activities also set to boost tourism between the Middle East and Indonesia.
“Having participated in Arabian Travel Market and other large-scale regional events, we now expect to see increasing growth in tourist arrivals from the Middle East. The government of Indonesia is well aware of the importance of this region to its tourism industry, a fact also highlighted by our appointment of a Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer in Dubai from 2008,” said Nirwandar.
“We work collaboratively with governments of the region, particularly the UAE, to promote Indonesia’s culture and tourism, through a range of activities including on-line promotion, sponsorship, media releases and other ongoing efforts,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service
 


source : http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_200093.html