T

he government expects the upcoming operation of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s new Terminal 3 to help boost the country’s tourist industry, as it can serve as a cultural showcase to encourage more international travelers to make stopovers in various local tourist destinations.

Slated to open in mid-August, the new terminal is expected to double Soekarno-Hatta’s ideal capacity of 26 million passengers per year, as it has been deemed as operating at overcapacity with a record of 54.2 million passengers last year.

State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II, which manages the airport, hopes the operation of the new facility will place the country’s busiest airport on par with Singapore’s Changi and Seoul’s Incheon international.

Boasting 422,804 square meters, the terminal will pamper travelers with a wide range of luxury lounges, restaurants and retail outlets.

Its commercial area, slated to reach up to 70,000 sq m, will also be home to around 180 tenants, providing travelers with a long list of options for places to shop or just kill time before departure.

The new terminal will also entertain travelers with its artistic interior, which will feature various traditional and contemporary artwork by local artists, including Eko Nugroho, Angki Purbandono, Nursalomo and art trio Tromarama.

In a visit to the terminal on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the facility would serve as “the Indonesian tourist gateway.”

“The airport is the face of our nation, as 75 percent of foreign tourists enter the country by air transportation, while 24 percent by sea and only 1 percent by land,” he told reporters.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is pushing for a boost in tourism, with the government waiving visa fees for citizens of 169 countries visiting Indonesia for up to 30 days in a bid to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019, double the figure seen last year.

While neighboring Singapore has been superior in the trade sector, Arief said Indonesia should utilize its potential to boost its tourist industry.

“This country already has competitive advantages in its cultural and natural resources, particularly compared to Singapore. Hence, it is relatively easy to beat the [popularity of] Changi Airport by showcasing our cultural resources,” he said.

This year, Changi has been voted the World’s Best Airport for the fourth year in a row, according to an annual Skytrax’s survey, which involved 13 million travelers across 106 nationalities and 550 airports worldwide.

AP II initially scheduled June 20 as the first day of operation for Terminal 3, which was constructed with some Rp 7 trillion (US$532 million).The launch, however, has been delayed to fulfill technical requirements set by the Transportation Ministry.

AP II president director Budi Karya Sumadi recently said that his firms had foreseen that the number of transit passengers at Soekarno-Hatta would quickly reach 15 million, up from 12 million today. The airport operator hopes that 10 to 30 percent of the transit passengers will spur tourism in Indonesia.

“We have to change the orientation of Jakarta as a transit city. We have to provide the best services, best facilities, on par with other foreign airports,” he said, adding that Soekarno-Hatta had until now only connected the country with 30 destinations abroad. (vps/est)