Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud`s planned visit to Bali is expected to boost national tourism, according to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.
"If the king comes to Bali, then the people will visit too," he stated after addressing the Regional Investment Forum 2017 here on Thursday.
According to Yahya, a visit to Bali is a royal family holiday.
"This is a golden opportunity for Indonesia to promote tourism," he added.
King Salman`s visit to Bali for a vacation is expected to have a positive influence on other people, especially those from the Middle Eastern countries.
Arief explained that travelers from the Middle East are premium-class tourists, with a high spending capacity of approximately US$2,000 in a single visit.
However, the number of Middle-East visitors to Indonesia is still low, at under 200 thousand, or still less than 300 thousand and 600 thousand tourists respectively visiting Malaysia and Thailand.
King Salman is scheduled to arrive on a state visit in Jakarta on Mar 1-2 and will be holidaying in Bali on March 4-9, 2017.
During his visit to Indonesia, King Salman is scheduled to bring along an entourage of about 1.5 thousand people aboard at least six aircraft.
This visit is also a historic moment for Indonesia since the last visit of a Saudi King to the country in 1970, or 47 years ago. (WDY)
