"Indonesia has simultaneously won two top places: Raja Ampat as the best and Komodo as the second-best snorkeling destinations in the world," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian tourisms popularity is expected to rise following the recognition given by two world reputed media firms, which earned the countrys tourism destinations --- Raja Ampat, Komodo Park, and Bali --- a top global rating.

The New York-based Travel+Leisure Magazine has named Bali, Indonesias tourist resort island, as the worlds second-best island after the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.

Meanwhile, the Cable News Network (CNN), in its international edition at the end of 2015, named Raja Ampat in West Papua and the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) as the worlds best snorkeling destinations.

The Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (Asita) for NTT office has lauded the recognition given to Raja Ampat in West Papua and the Komodo National Park of NTT as the worlds best snorkeling destinations.

"We laud the recognition by CNN, which has involved maritime experts in its survey to select the worlds favorite snorkeling sites. The survey is a concrete effort that has given NTT the status of a world-class tourism destination," Abednego Frans, the NTT Asita chairman, stated in the Kupang Provincial capital of NTT on Sunday.

At the end of 2015, CNNs international edition, held a survey involving several maritime experts in selecting their respective favorite snorkeling destinations.

Their responses were summarized in an article titled "11 of the worlds best snorkeling destinations."

According to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, Raja Ampat in West Papua and the Komodo National Park in NTT have been named the worlds best snorkeling locations.

"Indonesia has simultaneously won two top places: Raja Ampat as the best and Komodo as the second-best snorkeling destinations in the world," Minister Yahya remarked on Sunday.

The two Indonesian destinations have beaten the islands of Galapagos, which were ranked third in the survey, the minister noted.

Besides Raja Ampat and the Komodo National Park, Bali has also been named one of the worlds best islands, according to the minister.

He expressed pride on Bali being selected as one of the worlds best islands by the US Travel+Leisure Magazine at the end of 2015.

The Travel+Leisure is a monthly magazine based in New York, with 4.8 million readers. It is the biggest competitor of Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveler.

"I am very proud of Bali being selected as one of the worlds best islands," the minister affirmed here on Sunday.

Based on the Travel+Leisure Magazines ratings, the worlds best islands are the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador with a score of 90.82, Bali of Indonesia with 88.98 score, Maldives with 88.53, Tasmania of Australia with 88.32, Santorini of Greece with 87.93, Moorea of French Polynesia with 87.90, Maui of Hawaii with 87.89, Kauai of Hawaii with 87.88, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia with 87.31, and Malta with 86.90.

The minister expressed pride on the trust placed on Bali by the world community, which has lauded its natural beauty, the uniqueness of its culture, and the hospitality of its people.

Although the Galapagos Islands came first in the best world island category, yet it was placed behind Raja Ampat and the Komodo National Park in the worlds best snorkeling category.

Topping the list of 11 places, Raja Ampat in West Papua is a habitat for 75 percent of all known coral species in the world. The National Park of Komodo in NTT came second in the list.

The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador was ranked third followed by the Coral Triangles in the Asia Pacific, the Philippines, Silver Bank of the Republic of Dominica, Palau in Micronesia, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Solomon Islands , Isla Holbox in Mexico, and the Kealakekua Bay in Big Island, Hawaii.

The minister attributed the finding and promotion of potential tourist destinations in the country to the hard work of all related agencies.

"Intensive promotional campaigns have begun to bear fruits," he pointed out.

The minister said he would promote other destinations in the country whose beauty were not inferior to that of Bali.

"We have to be confident that our tourism destinations are great for snorkeling, with beautiful diving sites. We can outclass Galapagos, even with our two tourist destinations of Raja Ampat and Komodo," he stated.

Arief said the "Wonderful Indonesia" brand has risen from the 100th ranking to the 47th in 2015, thereby beating the "Amazing Thailand" brand ranked 83rd and the "Truly Asia Malaysia" brand, which is ranked 96th.

He said all Indonesians should be aware of the countrys tourism potentials and together create and maintain a supporting climate to develop the countrys tourism industry.

Frans of Asita remarked that the tourism sector had become one of the countrys competitive economic pillars. It could boost foreign tourist arrivals and help realize its targets.

The government has set a target to attract 10 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2015, 12 million in 2016, and 20 million by 2019.

"Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia will consecutively be the biggest foreign tourist exporters to Indonesia. We hope NTT would receive five percent of the foreign tourists visiting the country. Therefore, we should support it through tourism promotion and regional tourism packages," said Abednego.

In the meantime, the Bali Tourism Office has set a target to attract 4.2 million tourists in 2016.

"This is a provisional target. We have not made detailed calculations as we still have to coordinate with the Udayana University. Ideally, it should be 4.5 million, but we cannot set a target recklessly," Head of the Bali Tourism Office Anak Agung Gede Yuniartha Putra noted.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a function marking the inauguration of the executive board members of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) on December 16, 2015.(*)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016