JEDDAH:
Indonesian Consul General Dharmakirty Syailendra Putra and the Indonesian
Ministry of Tourism organized a traditional and cultural night under the title “Indonesian
Night” to celebrate the diversity of
Indonesia.
The event took place at the residence of the consul general on Friday (Novermber 20,
2015) and featured
Aceh’s colorful traditional
Saman dance,
Indonesian food and traditional Indonesian batik and kebaya clothes.
Putra welcomed the guests, diplomats and journalists on the occasion and said they organized the “Indonesian Night” to attract
Saudi tourists and promote the country as a tourist destination.
“
Tonight is a very important and interesting event, in the framework of exploring Indonesian cultural diversity and tourism. Indonesia with its natural beauty and hospitality is famous around world, including in
Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said Indonesia is targeting 20 million arrivals by 2019 and is planning the biggest push for people from the
Middle East. “I wish wonderful and memorable memories for everyone tonight,” he said.
Lalu Afzal, the head of tourism of
Nusa Tenggara Barat Indonesia, said Saudi Arabia contributes the most tourists from the Middle East visiting Indonesia.
Based on foreign visit realization data of 2014, the number of Saudi visitors rose to around 27 percent or
147,074 visitors compared to that of
2013, with 115,912 visitors.
The positive trend of the increasing Saudi tourists also was seen from January-September 2015 period where Saudi tourists stood at 129,297, an increase of 4.67 percent compared to 2014.
He said the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia expects 9.5 million tourists in 2014 to increase to 20 million in the next five years. To accelerate achievement of this goal, Indonesia has recently waived visa requirements
for 90 countries, including Saudi Arabia. Indonesia has also recently issued the new
Presidential Regulation No. 105-2015 to support maritime tourism. This new regulation does away with the process of
Clearance Approval for Indonesia
Territory (
CAIT).
In another breakthrough by the
Indonesian government, sea tourists may embark and disembark in five ports in Indonesia, namely Belawan-Medan (
North Sumatra),
Tanjung Priok-Jakarta, Tanjung Perak-Surabaya (
East Java), Benoa-Bali, Soekarno-Hatta, and
Makassar.
Indonesia’s position in international tourism is becoming more established.
The country ranks in
20th place in the biennial
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report this year.
He explained that Lombok in the
West Nusa Tenggara Province, next to
Bali, won two awards:
World’s
Best Halal
Tourism Destination and the World’s Best Halal
Honeymoon Destination. Along with Lombok, Indonesia’s Sofyan
Hotel Group was also successful in winning the World’s Best Family-friendly Hotel award.
Lombok with its natural green scenery, beautiful beaches and
Muslim community is the best destination for
Saudis and people from the Middle East to visit.
The island contains thousands of mosques and offers products which are Shariah compliant.
(
Arab News :
22 November 2014)
- published: 07 Dec 2015
- views: 109