Indonesia, India to boost tourism cooperation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 08/31/2009 12:13 PM

Indonesian and Indian tourism officials and private stakeholders met in Yogyakarta last week to discuss how to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries, known for their exotic cultural and natural attractions.

"India has become one of the main targets of Indonesian tourism in the past few years," the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Ministry said in a statement.

Jakarta and New Delhi signed a memorandum of understanding on the matter in the Indian capital in 2000.

The ministry has set up a tourism representative office in New Delhi, held exhibitions and invited Indian journalists to promote Indonesian tourism sites.

It noted the number of Indian tourists rose to 112,267 last year, an increase of 23.73 percent from 90,720 in 2007.

The government is seeking to attract between 150,000 and 160,000 Indian tourists this year, a tough challenge due to the economic downturn and the absence of direct flights between Jakarta and New Delhi.

At the two-day 1st Joint Working Group Meeting on Tourism between Indonesia and India in Yogyakarta from Aug. 27 to 28, 2009, both governments agreed to hold media and tour operator junkets for each country and also exchange information on tourism development.

Indonesia also offered its tourism sites to be used as film sets for Bollywood movies, the ministry said.

The Indonesian delegation was headed by Wardiyatmo, the ministry's secretary-general, while the Indian delegation was headed by Sujit Banerjee, secretary of the Indian Ministry of Tourism.