Indonesia targets 6 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2006

Indonesia targets to attract 6 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, despite a decline in arrivals during the first quarter, the Jakarta Post reported on Saturday.

Director General of Tourist Destinations at the Culture and Tourism Ministry Sambudjo Parikesit was quoted as saying that an increasing number of foreign tourists were expected to visit the country's major tourist destinations, such as Bali, in the coming months.

"The recent trends indicate that foreign tourist arrivals are on the rise," he said.

According to Sambudjo, the monthly figure from February to March has shown a slight increase.

He said his ministry was designing a campaign to expand tourist destinations in the eastern part of Indonesia so that tourists would have a greater range of choices when visiting the country.

Currently, between 70 and 80 percent of tourists visit destinations in the western part of Indonesia, particularly Bali, Java and Sumatra.

The arrivals from January and March declined by 12.83 percent to 871,800 from the same period last year.

The official said that worries over security, natural disasters and health, such as bird flu, were factors that have made potential tourists put off visiting Indonesia.

Source: Xinhua