"Tourism promotion is still weak. We have several beautiful tourism destinations, which is proven by the fact that they are ranked among the top 20. Moreover, the price is competitive," Yahya noted here on Monday.
The "Wonderful Indonesia" brand is also ranked 47 in the world, surpassing "Truly Asia Malaysia" and "Amazing Thailand."
The ministry will focus on promoting tourism through the digital media by increasing the budget.
"We will increase the budget to 50 percent for digital promotion, from the previous 30 percent," Yahya said.
He added that at least 70 percent of the total tourists use digital media to search tourism destinations and share their experiences.
Yahya said his ministry believes that the target to attract 20 million foreign tourists could be achieved in 2019.
The tourist arrivals in August 2017 had reached 1.35 million. Yahya believes the target to draw 15 million foreign tourists annually to Indonesia can be achieved.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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