T

he government plans to separate industrial and tourism ports to bring more international cruise liners to Indonesia due to growing demands.

“We have to prepare our ports because they are crowded with cargo ships. International cruise tourists want to see the beauty of the port,” Firmansyah, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s director general for tourism development, told The Jakarta Post at his office on Friday.

He said that the ministry was collaborating with port operator PT Pelindo I and II as well as local administrations to improve ports including Tanah Ampo and Benoa in Bali, Tanjung Mas in Central Java, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Belawan in North Sumatra and Palopo in South Sulawesi.

“We have to admit that we are lacking ground handling facilities. We are working hard so that more international cruise ships can visit Indonesia,” he said, adding that the cruise industry had a lot of promise in Indonesia.

As of September 2011, there were 178 cruise ship calls with 113,766 passengers coming to Indonesia, while in 2010, that figure stood at 198 for the calls that brought 94,228 passengers.

In 2012, he said that as many as 215 calls have been scheduled to visit Indonesian ports, bringing 137,279 passengers.

He added that 2,000-passenger cruise ships had anchored twice in Tanah Ampo this year, including the Australian Sun Princess, which anchored at Tanah Ampo on July 17.

Sun Princess was the first ship to make a stopover after several others canceled their visits due to unfinished docking facilities. With 2,100 passengers and 880 crew on board, the ship made its final stopover in Tanah Ampo before returning to Fremantle, Australia.

Kicking off its journey in Fremantle, the ship went to Padang, Langkawi and Singapore before heading to Vietnam and Cambodia.

“Tanah Ampo still needs a wharf extension to be able to accommodate cruise liners, and we are working on that,” Firmansyah said.

The current pier is only 154 meters long, while the international standard is at least 300 meters.

Construction is unfinished, despite being was initiated years ago, for lack of around Rp 200 billion (US$23.6 million) budgeted by the central government.

Although docking facilities are not yet finished, cruise ships can anchor some 400 meters away from the wharf and small boats bring passengers and crew to a floating jetty to reach the terminal.

However, Firmansyah was upbeat that the dock would be finished soon because Pelindo and local administrations have felt the benefits. “Indonesia gets at least $1 million from cruise liner business a year,” he said.

Indonesia also plans to make Bali a hub cruise port that will connect several potential ports for foreign tourists in 2014, he said.

From Bali, cruise liners will travel to Semarang, Jakarta, Palopo, Flores and back to Bali.

The ministry is still choosing between Benoa and Tanah Ampo as the hub. However, he said that if Benoa were chosen, it would take much more work and time. (nfo)