Tourism Ministry Cooperate With China' It Company

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Tourism Minister  Arief Yahya said the ministry is cooperating with China information technology  company Baidu in a bid to lure in more tourists from China.

Arief said the country hopes to chalk up around 10 million of tourists from China in 2019 or around 50 percent of the target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals set by the end of the office term of the present government.

The minister said China is the world's largest market, adding around 120 million Chinese traveled abroad in 2015.

A  memorandum of understanding was signed here on Thursday  between the ministry's deputy for foreign tourism development I Gde Pitana  and Managing Director of Baidu Indonesia, Bao Jianlei.

Arief said  around 1.1 million Chinese visited Indonesia in 2015 up 17 percent from the previous year, adding the  number is expected to increase to 2 million in 2016.

"I am given a target by the president to lure in at least 10 million Chinese travelers to Indonesia in 2019," he said.

He said currently , 83 percent tourists plan their oversea visits via internet , and 70 percent of destinations are determined by  Travel Platforms.

Therefore, currently,  digital media for promotion is 4 times more effective than conventional media, he said.

"The world has changed and customers have changed, therefore, our way of promotion has to be changed.The more digital the more personal," he said.

Therefore, the use of the Baidu service is strategic as the largest "search engine"  in China, he added.

In seeking expansion to other markets, the tourism ministry is cooperating with  Google, Trip Adviser,etc, he said.  
Baidu is the largest search engine in China  with a market share of more  than 85 percent , recording around 700 million users.

One of its products, Baidu Travel, is the largest travel platform  in that country used by more than 60 percent of Chinese travelers.

Baidu  will also contribute in a series of workshops to educate providers of information about Indonesian tourism on line such as travel agents , tourist guides  and providers of accommodations like hotels.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said  the number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia totaled more than 10.4 million  overshooting the target of 10 million set for 2015.

Arief said Indonesia recorded a 7.2 percent growth annually in the number of foreign tourist exceeding the world's average of 4.4 percent and ASEAN's record of 6 percent on the average.

In  2016, Indonesia set a significant rise in target at 12 million arrivals .

A major strategic plan is the development of 10 priority tourist destinations including Buddhist temple Borobudur, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, The Thousand Islands, Lake Toba, Wakatobi, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai, and Tanjung Kelayang.

Another policy is the  visa free policy offered to  tourists from 90 countries  in 2015 to be increased to 174 countries this year.

In addition, the government has issued deregulation policy eliminating Clearance Approval to enter Indonesia Territory or CAIT.

The policy is expected to attract more yachts into Indonesian waters. It is projected that in 5 years the number of international yachts arriving in Indonesia will reach 5,000 bringing in an estimated foreign exchange income of US$500 million. (WDY)