TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia is still below Thailand’s, although the country is considered as the most exotic global tourist destination.
“We’re behind [Thailand] in terms of accessibility and amenity,” Arief said in Bangkok, Thailand, during the 2017 Global Summit World Travel and Tourism Council on Thursday, April 27, 2017.
According to Arief, the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand reaches 30 million people annually. Meanwhile, Indonesia manages to attract roughly 11 million foreign tourists each year.
Arief explained that tourists are still facing difficulties regarding the country’s accessibility, which is reflected by the lack of direct flights from a number of countries to Indonesia’s major tourist destinations. In addition, direct the flight quota to I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport in Bali is already full.
“I have an idea to introduce a holiday package and a flight from Phuket to Denpasar, Bali, so that tourists
could visit Indonesia,” Arief said.
In addition to the issues with accessibility, Indonesia also lacks amenities related to hotel availability and local transportations. Other than Bali and Jakarta, the number of hotels available in many tourist locations is still limited.
Arief claims that he will discuss the issues with local airlines. He also called on local airlines to craft connected flight packages, such as from Bangkok to Denpasar and Solo.
RAYMUNDUS RIKANG (BANGKOK)
