Some 80 percent of tourist visits are on weekends and weekday visits are rare. We are trying to attract tourist visits on weekdaysJakarta (ANTARA) - The Tourism and Culture Office of Seribu Islands District is intensifying promotional activities to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists on weekdays and weekends. "Some 80 percent of tourist visits are on weekends and weekday visits are rare. We are trying to attract tourist visits on weekdays," Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, head of the Seribu Island tourism office, said on Tidung Island, Seribu Islands District, Saturday.
The number of tourist arrivals on Seribu Islands is between 800 thousand and 850 thousand per year. Of the total, some 90 percent are domestic tourists, and the rest are foreigners.
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The tourist promotion activities target government institutions and private companies in the country to offer them MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) services.
"Seribu Islands is suitable for the MICE segment. It can focus on one island, so participants would not scatter everywhere, or they can also tour other islands," he said, adding that Seribu Islands have the potential for maritime tourism as well as MICE events.
The tourism office has organized exhibitions and offers promotional discounts of up to 50 percent in various malls.
Accessibility to Seribu Islands and other islands in the district is still an obstacle in the effort to boost tourism, owing to the limited number of boats serving passengers to and from the district.
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"We have conducted a study to connect the islands. Hopefully, it could materialize this year," he noted.
The development of infrastructure and transportation facilities would not be the responsibility of the government alone but would involve the private sector and local region-owned companies.
"If everything is interconnected, tourists could stay longer here," he said.
Seribu Islands or Thousand Islands are a chain of islands to the north of Jakarta's coast, all within the administration of Jakarta.
It comprises a string of 342 islands stretching 45 km north into the Java Sea at West Jakarta Bay, north of Banten Province.
Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
