Indonesia plans ten tourism hot spots to replicate Bali’s success
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has developed a “Ten New Balis” tourism growth strategy, a plan that aims at replicating the economic effects of tourism on the holiday island of Bali nationally.
He has also set a target of 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 which should be supported by promotion campaigns and by improving the country’s travel and accommodation infrastructure.
The Ministry of Tourism has listed the destinations earmarked under the plan for further development:
Lake Toba, North Sumatra
Tanjung Lesung, Banten
Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta
Tanjung Kelayang Beach, Belitung Island
Borobudur Temple, Central Java
Mount Bromo, East Java
Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara
Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara
Wakatobi, South Sulawesi
Morotai Island, North Maluku
According to the ministry, the locations were selected based on three “As”: They are already an attraction in their own right, and they would benefit from better access and more amenities.
All ten destinations will have their own unique offerings, from yachting and diving in places such as Labuan Bajo to cultural experiences at world-renowned heritage sites such as Borobudur.
One destination that is popular with both local and foreign tourists but suffers from a lack of more direct access is Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra. International visitors to the volcanic lake typically fly to Medan, and travel hours by road before arriving at the location.
Plans are now to upgrade Silangit Airport, which is less than an hour away from Lake Toba, to an international airport later this month. With the upgrade, the journey for travelers would be much shorter.
Singapore is Indonesia’s largest source of tourists, with 1.5 million visitors having arrived from the city-state last year, but Indonesia also aims to attract more travelers from China, as well as from Australia and India. The tourism ministry said that additional flights have been scheduled, particularly by low-cost carriers, to and from those countries.
This year, a target of 15 million tourist arrivals has been set. To ensure that infrastructure developments are carried out efficiently, the ministry has streamlined project approval processes and defined special economic zones where infrastructure developments are needed to draw foreign investors. Other special zones will be created for meetings, incentives, conferences and events, or Mice activities, as well as sports tourism.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has developed a “Ten New Balis” tourism growth strategy, a plan that aims at replicating the economic effects of tourism on the holiday island of Bali nationally. He has also set a target of 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 which should be supported by promotion campaigns and by improving the country’s travel and accommodation infrastructure. The Ministry of Tourism has listed the destinations earmarked under the plan for further development: Lake Toba, North Sumatra Tanjung Lesung, Banten Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta Tanjung Kelayang Beach, Belitung Island Borobudur Temple, Central Java Mount Bromo, East Java Mandalika, West...
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has developed a “Ten New Balis” tourism growth strategy, a plan that aims at replicating the economic effects of tourism on the holiday island of Bali nationally.
He has also set a target of 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 which should be supported by promotion campaigns and by improving the country’s travel and accommodation infrastructure.
The Ministry of Tourism has listed the destinations earmarked under the plan for further development:
Lake Toba, North Sumatra
Tanjung Lesung, Banten
Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta
Tanjung Kelayang Beach, Belitung Island
Borobudur Temple, Central Java
Mount Bromo, East Java
Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara
Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara
Wakatobi, South Sulawesi
Morotai Island, North Maluku
According to the ministry, the locations were selected based on three “As”: They are already an attraction in their own right, and they would benefit from better access and more amenities.
All ten destinations will have their own unique offerings, from yachting and diving in places such as Labuan Bajo to cultural experiences at world-renowned heritage sites such as Borobudur.
One destination that is popular with both local and foreign tourists but suffers from a lack of more direct access is Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra. International visitors to the volcanic lake typically fly to Medan, and travel hours by road before arriving at the location.
Plans are now to upgrade Silangit Airport, which is less than an hour away from Lake Toba, to an international airport later this month. With the upgrade, the journey for travelers would be much shorter.
Singapore is Indonesia’s largest source of tourists, with 1.5 million visitors having arrived from the city-state last year, but Indonesia also aims to attract more travelers from China, as well as from Australia and India. The tourism ministry said that additional flights have been scheduled, particularly by low-cost carriers, to and from those countries.
This year, a target of 15 million tourist arrivals has been set. To ensure that infrastructure developments are carried out efficiently, the ministry has streamlined project approval processes and defined special economic zones where infrastructure developments are needed to draw foreign investors. Other special zones will be created for meetings, incentives, conferences and events, or Mice activities, as well as sports tourism.
