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Indonesia promotes 10 new tourist destinations in Guangdong

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Group photo of Vinsensius Jemadu, the consulate officials and people from the tourism industry, airline and media at the end of tourism promotion. Photo by Thomas Yang.

Chen Xiaochun

654789759@qq.com

The Indonesian Government is eyeing a larger share of the Chinese market by promoting 10 new tourist attractions in Guangdong Province last week.

Vinsensius Jemadu, assistant-deputy of the Asia-Pacific market with the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, made the announcement Thursday night in Guangzhou.

The 10 places being promoted are Toba Lake in North Sumatra, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung, Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Borobudur in Central Java, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Bromo Mountain in East Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Morotai Island in North Maluku.

Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung

Jemadu said that China has become Indonesia’s No. 1 tourist market and that seven out of the 10 places would be favored by Chinese tourists due to the lake, island and ocean scenery.

Lake Toba in North Sumatra, for example, is the largest volcanic lake in the world and the second-largest lake in the world after Victoria Lake in Africa. Samosir Island, in the middle of Lake Toba, has an area of 64.000 hectares, which is equal the size of Singapore. Visitors can participate in various outdoor programs, such as hiking, swimming, water sports, golf, fishing, watching the sunset, to name only a few.

Lake Toba in North Sumatra

The last two years witnessed the Indonesian Government establishing tourism as the country’s leading industry. It is expected that by the end of 2019 or 2020, tourism could become the No.1 foreign exchange earner for the country.

However, most foreign tourists, including Chinese, have so far only heard of Bali and Jakarta. Up to 95 percent of all inbound tourists flowed into the three major destinations: Bali, 40 percent; Jakarta 30 percent, Batam around 20 percent. Only 5 to 10 percent visited other places in the country.

Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi

With these new destinations, the Indonesian Government is aiming for more than 2 million tourists from China in 2017 and a surge to 10 million by 2019.

Jemadu said basic infrastructure and half of the investment for these new destinations will be provided by the government. As to the other half, they are trying to open the door to foreign investment, especially China.