Tourism development director general Firmansyah Rahim said the places were chosen from 22 that were short-listed previously for their potential to attract visitors.

"We will arrange local and international accesses to the 10 destinations," Firmansyah said on Tuesday.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with regional representatives on the ministry's plans for 2010-2014.

To meet the government's criteria, the sites selected needed standard facilities and adequate infrastructure. "We could build facilities at all of those potential areas in just five years, so we must set priorities," Firmansyah said.

The 22 areas initially selected included Toba in North Sumatra, Rinjani and Tambora in West Nusa Tenggara, Kota Tua (Old Town) in Jakarta, and Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi.

In 2008, the ministry's focused on developing tourism in 10 provinces, two of which were West Nusa Tenggara and North Sumatra.

However, the project was not very effective. "There were plenty of small-scale projects but none were really successful," Firmansyah said.

Based on its experience from previous programs, this year the ministry has focused on specific destinations rather than provinces.

The development of the 10 destinations will cost the government an estimated Rp 313 billion (US$33.8 million). "The actual cost may be higher, but a more precise figure will come from the National Development Planning Board," Firmansyah said.

The government expects a 20 percent increase in domestic and international tourist arrivals between 2010 and 2014.

According to government data, between January and September 2009, Indonesia was visited by 4.6 million international tourists.

In 2008, the total reached 6.4 million, increasing 16 percent from 5.5 million in 2007.

The number of local tourists totalled 117 million in 2008, a modest increase from 115 million in 2007.

Firmansyah said the ministry planned to ease regulations to improve investment in the tourism sector. "Red tape is still a problem."

The government expects the legislative overhaul to be completed by the end of May.

Firmansyah said some local administrations scared off potential investors with complicated bureaucracy. "A major challenge in attracting investors to the tourism sector is our lack of human resources.

"In making plans, we should work with experts. We often fail to attract potential investors because of shoddy proposals," he said.

"The result has been that potential investors don't understand our proposals and local governments have no idea what investors really want."

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