Govt Eyes US$17.6mn Foreign Exchange from Tourism

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said the government and the central bank had pegged the target for the tourism sector’s foreign exchange this year at US$17.6 million.

“And we have targeted 20 million foreign tourist arrivals. So to achieve the goal, we have discussed several strategies,” said Perry today, March 19, after a coordination meeting of central, regional governments and Bank Indonesia at his office, Jakarta.

The meeting was a follow-up on the previous meeting in Yogyakarta, August 29, 2018, that was held as a commitment between the government and Bank Indonesia in boosting tourism development, especially on the effort to jack up earnings from foreign exchange. 

Read: Indonesia Eyes to Enhance Halal Tourism by 45 Percent

The meeting, which was initiated by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and the Bank Indonesia Governor, was attended by the Tourism Minister, the Financial Authority Agency (OJK) commissioner, the National Statistics Agency head, officials and staffers of related ministries, and a number of regional heads of tourist destinations.

On the occasion, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said the government would maximize digitization programs in a bid to step up the tourism sector.

“We will enhance the digitization effort. The target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals is not impossible to achieve, that’s a conservative figure. I’m optimistic about the target of US$17.6 million earnings,” Luhut added. 

MUHAMMAD HENDARTYO