"Since it was opened until April 3, 2022, some 63 percent of foreigners have entered Indonesia, and Australia is in the first position by contributing 21 percent of the tourists, and the positivity rate of COVID-19 is very low due to the high vaccination rates," Uno noted in a press statement received here, Tuesday.
Furthermore, the minister explained that the objective behind his working visit to Australia on April 5-10, 2022, was to restore confidence in the Australian market following the gradual easing of foreign travel policies in Indonesia.
"Our visit is to encourage investment in the tourism sector and the creative economy," he stated.
The minister targets 1.4 million foreign tourists from Australia to visit Indonesia this year, especially Bali. He invited related stakeholders in the tourism and creative economy sectors to collaborate in realizing these targets.
"Massive collaboration is needed to achieve the target of 1.4 million Australian tourists visiting Indonesia. We need to provide more flights, better-known tourism products, as well as qualified services," Uno remarked.
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In addition, accessibility is a factor considered to attract tourists. Hence, Uno and his entourage took the Jetstar airline flight from Sydney to Denpasar, Bali, aboard a Boeing 787 aircraft on April 10, 2022.
The flight was fully occupied with a total of 335 passengers. This condition is forecast to last for the next few weeks on account of the fact that Australia is entering the Easter holiday period.
Jetstar, an Australian airline, operates three direct flight routes to Bali, thrice a week from Melbourne and Sydney and daily from Perth.
Uno believes this figure is still insufficient to accommodate the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali.
"If the number of flights is increased, then the number of foreign tourists will increase and this will drive the economy and create more employment opportunities. We can urge other airlines by thinking outside of the box and do not think business as usual," he concluded.
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Translator: M Baqir I A, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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