TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsGovt to focus on tourism recovery, not '10 new Balis'
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
N
ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra has urged the government to reconsider its plan to develop 10 new tourist destinations and instead focus on tourism recovery amid the current COVID-19 crisis, which continues to batter the sector.
The 10 destinations refer to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s program to develop emerging tourist destinations, including Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara.
The airline suggested that the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry focus its tourism revival effort on a single tourist spot to attract foreign tourists given the slump in visitors in recent months, Irfan stated on Thursday.
“When someone buys a ticket to travel, they will only go to one destination. [Too many destinations] might be distracting,” he said during an online discussion held by the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA).
“So we [Garuda and the ministry] are currently discussing focusing on one or two destinations so we can bring in domestic and international visitors.”
He added that Bali remained the top destination for airlines during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 crisis has battered foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia amid international border closures and travel restrictions. Foreign visits plummeted 59.96 percent year-on-year to 3.09 million in the first half of the year, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data show.
