Malaysian Tourist Arrivals To Decrease In Fasting Month: Minister

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has forecast that the number of Malaysian tourists arriving in Indonesia would decline in the coming fasting month of Ramadhan in June.

"During the fasting month, Malaysian tourist arrivals in the country are expected to fall. Malaysians are similar to Indonesians who avoid travelling during the fasting month. Therefore, we should seek and attract tourists from other countries as a substitute (to the Malaysians)," Minister Arief stated after opening a coordination meeting on tourism in Jakarta on Thursday.

A decline of 10 to 15 percent is forecast in the number of Malaysian tourist arrivals. The number of Malaysian tourists arriving in Indonesia during regular months reaches some 100 thousand per month or 1.2 million per year, Arief noted.

"We hope to cover the decline in Malaysian tourist arrivals by attracting tourists from the Middle East and Europe during the fasting month. I look at Dubai as it has a population of 2.6 million, while its natives account for only seven percent. So, I hope that the people from Dubai will visit Indonesia as they do not observe fasting," the minister remarked.

Indonesia's Tourism Ministry has established cooperation with Emirates Airlines to increase the frequency of direct flights from the United Arab Emirates to tourism destinations: Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Denpasar (Bali), and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara).

"We are working closely, and the cooperation will be mutually beneficial," Arief noted in a statement received by Antara on Wednesday.

The cooperation was realized with the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) between the deputy assistant for Europe, America, Middle East, and Africa market development and senior vice president of commercial operations for Far East of the Emirates Airlines at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The event was held on April 25-28, 2016.

Following the signing of the LoI, Minister Arief held a meeting with the management of Emirates Airlines comprising Divisional Senior Vice President For Commercial Operations Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Badr Abbas, Divisional Vice President-Group Secretary Zack Zainal Abidin, Vice President Commercial Operations for the United Arab Emirates and Oman Khalid Bel Jaflah, and Regional Manager Commercial Operations for Central West Asia and Indian Ocean Manickam Jayaseelan.

The cooperation aims to increase passenger capacity, especially for foreign tourists, to enjoy the beauty of tourist sites in Indonesia.  
Arief affirmed that the LoI was an attempt to open up access and build connectivity from the Middle East to Indonesia.

Emirates, the fourth-best airline in the world, is keen to operate regular scheduled flights of its aircraft to the four Indonesian international airports in Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Lombok.

Currently, Emirates operates six direct flights to Indonesia on the Dubai-Denpasar route and 14 flights on the Dubai-Jakarta route per week.

The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism is participating in the ATM 2016 in Dubai to promote halal tourism, and halal destination, which is also known by the term "family-friendly tourism."  
In 2015, Lombok won the World's Best Halal Destination and the World's Best Honeymoon Destination awards.

The ministry is also offering a visa-free policy to 169 countries to boost foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia. (WDY)