Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf), announced an increase in the target for foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in 2023.
The initial target set in January 2023 was 7.4 million. This has been increased by 1.1 million to 8.5 million. Sandi stated that this increase is based on an evaluation of foreign tourist arrivals.
"Our initial upper target for foreign tourists was 7.4 million. Perhaps due to a stronger momentum, we added one million; if I'm not mistaken, the figure will be released as 8.5 million," said Sandi at an event with the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) and the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) in Jakarta, as reported by Antara on Tuesday (April 11, 2023).
The momentum Sandi referred to is the satisfactory evaluation of the first quarter of 2023. There is also the latest data on tourism recovery in the Asia Pacific region, which Sandi sees as having a promising curve.
"Especially regarding the public's desire to travel post-pandemic from our two main markets, namely China (Tiongkok) and Australia," said Sandi.
In addition to these two countries, India is also a key target market. Sandi said the target of 8.5 million foreign tourist visits can be achieved with support from the industry, particularly from the aviation sector.
Sandi admitted that his ministry has taken steps, including sending representatives to China to discuss tourism cooperation. The ambitious goal is to attract 10 million Chinese tourists to Indonesia within the next 5-10 years.
Generally, he believes that the potential for cooperation and increased visits can be achieved if industry players, associations, and organizations involved in tourism and the creative economy actively participate.
"All of this can be achieved if we accelerate transformation in the tourism sector and improve interconnectivity," said Sandi.
(Also read: Tourism Rebounds, Here's the Trend of Foreign Tourist Visits to Indonesia in the Last Year)