TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The World Bank highlighted Indonesia's performance in marine tourism, specifically in the diving sector, during the first quarter of 2019 through a quarterly report released today, July 1. World Bank Lead Economist for Indonesia, Frederico Gil Sander, said that Indonesia placed last in the spending contribution compared to the other six countries that relied on the diving tourism sector.

“Tourist spending during marine vacations in Indonesia is only US$165 per person,” said Sander during a discussion on Indonesia Economic Quarterly at SCBD Sudirman complex, Jakarta, Monday, July 1.

The six other countries were Malaysia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Maldives. Sander opined Indonesia was too aggressive in boosting the number of tourists, while according to him, state revenue from the sector potentially decreased if over-tourism occurred.

“So the next focus should not only be on the number of tourists but also tourists spending,” he underlined, adding that Indonesia should develop the image of a country with beautiful natural resources.

Read: Observers Upbeat about Jokowi Continuing to Boost Tourism

Up till this year, the Ministry of Tourism has been striving to increase the number of foreign tourists to reach its target of 20 million tourists. The three main gates of tourist arrivals are Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport, and Hang Nadim Batam International Airport.

The ministry’s public communication and information head, Guntur Sakti, said that his side was still studying the latest data of the World Bank. “We will first elaborate the World Bank’s data because based on the Passenger Exit Survey (PES) 2016, the average tourist spending per visit from the main gate was US$1.201,04,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ministry data showed tourists spending via cross border posts hovered around US$178.14 to US$190.88.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA