Indonesia targets to attract 620 thousand Japanese tourists in 2017

The Indonesian government has set a target to attract some 620 thousand Japanese tourists to the country in 2017, Director for Asia-Pacific Tourism Promotion of the Tourism Ministry of Indonesia Vinsensius Jemadu stated on Friday.

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Indonesia had experienced a decline of 0.2 percent in 2016.

"The number of Japanese tourists visiting Indonesia last year had reached 513 thousand," he noted during the inauguration of the Japan Visa Application Center (JVAC) in Jakarta.

He remarked that one of the obstacles faced in increasing Japanese tourist arrivals in Indonesia was the lack of additional direct flights from Japan to Indonesia.

"The decline in Japanese tourist arrivals in Indonesia occurred, as Japan Airlines had stopped operating flights to Bali," he pointed out.

Hence, he is scheduled to visit Tokyo, Japan, to convince Japan Airlines to operate flights to Bali again.

He expected that regular flights will be started from Japan to Indonesia to facilitate Japanese people keen on visiting the country.

Meanwhile, to increase the number of Japanese tourists visiting Indonesia, Jemadu said his party continues to promote the countrys tourist destinations in Japan, including through the digital media.

Moreover, Jemadu said his party can promote Indonesias tourist destinations by participating in events, including travel fairs and organizing fun trips.

In the scheme of fun trips, he said travel agents, media, and a Japanese party were invited to visit several tourist destinations in Indonesia, so they are able to gain a broader understanding of Indonesias tourism.

"We recognize that 80 percent of the Japanese tourists visit Bali," he stated.

Hence, he said the Indonesian government, under the leadership of President Joko Widodo, has created 10 New Bali to attract more foreign tourists to other destinations in Indonesia in addition to Bali.

Earlier, Japan had opened a new visa application center in Jakarta on Friday to facilitate all Indonesians keen on travelling to Japan.

The JVAC, located on the 4th floor of the Lotte Shopping Avenue in South Jakarta, will start operating from Sept 15.

In addition to catering to the growing demand of visa applicants, Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masafumi Ishii said the establishment of the JVAC also aims to improve visa application services for all Indonesians by reducing the length of queues at visa counters and shortening the waiting time of applicants.

The Japanese Embassy in Indonesia had issued 68,257 visas in 2012; 91,860 visas in 2013; 103,631 visas in 2014; 117,019 visas in 2015; and 138,327 visas in 2016. An increase of 200 percent was recorded in the number of visa applications in 2016 as compared to 2012.

Source: ANTARA