Indonesia's annual travel mart, the Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME), is being held in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, with transactions expected to exceed 16 million U.S. dollars

The three-day event attracted about 300 buyers, sellers and journalists from more than 20 countries, 10 percent more than the initial target, which means the efforts to boost tourism have resulted in a positive sign, officials from the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Ministry as well as local governments said.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said at the opening ceremony of the travel mart that the expo was an opportunity to boost the tourism sector, which was hard-hit in recent years by terrorism, natural disasters, bird flu and SARS.

He said the 13th expo, which was firstly held outside Java island, was a good chance to draw tourists to lesser-known destinations outside Bali, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

"This is the right time to show the world that Indonesia is more than Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta. We have islands like Sulawesi and cities like Makassar that are just as beautiful," he said after opening the event.

Makassar is the first city in eastern Indonesia to host the expo, which this year is attended by 110 buyers, 124 sellers and dozens of journalists. Last year, it was attended by 126 sellers and 84 buyers from 23 countries.

To explore more new markets, the minister said the Indonesian government has put the promotion priorities to China, India and the Middle East countries, while maintaining the traditional markets like the United States, Australia and Europe.

Besides simplifying travel to the country by granting visa-on- arrival to more nations and building up infrastructure and superstructure, Indonesia will also launch a program that targets Chinese tourists visiting Singapore, said Nia Niscaya, deputy director for international promotion in the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Indonesia wants to take advantage of the country's flag carrier, the Garuda's services to attract more Chinese to combine their holidays in Singapore with Indonesia, he added. Garuda flies Jakarta-Beijing and Jakarta-Shanghai, both via Singapore.

The expo was first held in 1994. It was not held outside Jakarta until last year, when it moved to Yogyakarta.

Holding the event every September under the coordination of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board, TIME is aimed at improving the image of Indonesia as an attractive tourist destination on the international market.

At the event, Minister Jero, who representing Vice President Jusuf Kalla, delivered a message, saying security and peace, as well as promotion, were the main things that attracted tourists to the country.

"If we can provide them by promoting local food, performances and souvenirs, I'm sure more tourists will come and the hotel occupancy rate will increase to 80 percent," he stressed.

"The key is, maintain security, live peacefully and in harmony and keep on promoting (tourist destinations) both locally and abroad to make foreign tourists visit Indonesia," he said.

The UN envoy for Asia-Pacific tourism, Xu Jiang, has also expressed optimism that the country's tourism will bounce back following a string of bombings and natural disasters. Xu was in the country to observe the country's tourism recovery following the 2004 tsunami in Aceh and the devastating May 27 earthquake in Yogyakarta.

Xu said the UN strongly believed the country's tourism industry would recover with hard work and promotion.

Indonesia attracted 5.3 million foreign tourists in 2005, but it is expected to decrease to less than 5 million in 2006 due to terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The government has targeted 6 million tourists for 2007.

Source: Xinhua