When Eruption Becomes an Attraction for Indonesia

THE MINISTRY of Tourism of Republic of Indonesia is actively promoting Indonesia in Indian cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kochi – in their annual sales mission this August.

Speaking at the mission in New Delhi, Nia Niscaya, Deputy Minister of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism of the Republic Of Indonesia said, “The sales mission to multi-cities will increase awareness about the destination. We have set a target of 700,000 visitors for 2018, which is a challenge as it is 40% target increase from 2017. So far, we have achieved 3,65,000 visitors from January to August 2018,” she said.

In addition to this, an incentive programme for travel agents called Hot Deals and Visit Indonesia Tourism Office (VITO) in India will add to promote the country and boost arrivals. The Ministry has also signed an agreement for joint promotion with Make My Trip, FCM Travel and Cox & Kings to increase footfall.

Realising the importance of Indian market for Indonesian Tourism and by looking at the ever-increasing number of Indian tourists to Indonesia, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia has continued to promote Indonesia in the form of business meetings between Indonesian sellers and Indian buyers. After Garuda Indonesia opened flight route from Mumbai to Jakarta in 2016, Singapore has been a hub for many flights to and from Indonesia. Speaking at the event, Sidharto R Suryodipuro, Indonesian Ambassador to India also informed that out of 56 flights every week from Indonesia, 18 flights in a week are by Indian carriers and these are not enough, hence, there is a need to improve air connectivity. “The opportunity to introduce direct flights is widely open as there are plenty of origin cities yet to be connected directly to Indonesia for example New Delhi, Bangalore and others. Hence, we are working towards starting a new direct flight from New Delhi to Jakarta very soon,” he informed.

India stands fifth important source market after China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia. And with the introduction of other destinations in Indonesia to Indian visitors, Niscaya highlighted that Bali is the most sought after destination. “Over 40% of tourists visiting Indonesia enter Bali, but the other less talked about places like Lake Toba, Tanjung Kelayang, Tanjung Lesung, Seribu Islands, the Borobudur, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru cluster, Mandalika should also be promoted to attract tourists,” she said.

Indonesia is accustomed to natural disasters often hit by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. “These natural disasters like volcanic eruptions have now become an attraction. It is very important for tourists to know that Mount Agung is situated 75 kms away from the tourist site and there is a critical area of 4 kms surrounding the mountain which is mostly affected during the eruption. Many people visit this particular destination as it has become an added attraction. Also, the Tourism Ministry has secured an arrangement to facilitate tourists during the disaster with an allocated budget of USD 8-9 million from the government,” she informed.