T

he Tourism Ministry expects significant additional tourist visits and spending from international sporting events that will take place in the country in the next five years.

World Rafting Championship, among international events to be held this month in Sukabumi, West Java, was expected to generate at least Rp 19 billion (US$13 million) in spending from domestic and foreign tourists attending the event, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

'€œThe spending would have a direct impact on the nearby area,'€ he said on Wednesday, adding that the media exposure would be huge for Indonesia.

Arief said the event would likely attract around 9,000 to 10,000 domestic tourists and around 800 foreign tourists.

The event, held by the Indonesian Rafting Federation (FAJI) and International Rafting Federation (IRF), will welcome visitors from 23 countries, including Japan and Argentina.

'€œSpending of at least $1,000 per foreign tourist would result in almost $1 million in income [for the area],'€ he said.

The ministry expects even more spending from mega sporting event MotoGP, which is slated to be held in Indonesia in 2017. Indonesia had agreed to hold the event for three consecutive years, from 2017 until 2019, he said .

'€œWith 100,000 expected to attend, I expect Rp 1 trillion in direct impact [from spending] every year,'€ Arief said.

The government is preparing a presidential regulation to secure Sentul International Circuit in Bogor, West Java, as the official venue for the event.

Preparations at the venue had reached 80 percent completion, according to Arief.

Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi held a meeting on Oct. 21 with MotoGP commercial rights holder Dorna Sports SL Carmelo Ezpeleta, during which Donna Sports agreed to choose and prioritize Indonesia as the host of the 2017 MotoGP.

The minister has also signed a letter of intent (LoI) to further secure Indonesia'€™s place as a host, which will be decided at a Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) meeting on Nov. 21.

Arief said that with the success of securing the events, he hoped to bring major tennis tournament the Australian Open to the archipelagic country. Until now it has only been held in Australia and New Zealand.

For next year, he also said that the ministry had secured Indonesia as host of TAFISA World Sport of All Games.

A lack of international sporting events has contributed to the minimal contribution of man-made tourism.

The ministry'€™s exit passenger survey data showed that man-made tourism, which included sporting events as well as meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), made up only 5 percent of total tourist visits. (fsu)