Jakarta (ANTARA) - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has said that he expects the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be hosted by Indonesia this year, to attract up to 200,000 foreign tourists.

He added that this target can be reached if at least 4,000 foreign tourists attend each of the championship's 52 matches.

"There will be 52 matches, and if approximately 20 percent of the targeted 20,000 spectators are foreigners, it means we can target more than 4,000 foreigners for each match," he said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday.

Last June, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced that Indonesia would replace Peru as the host of the U-17 World Cup, which is expected to take place from November 10 to December 2 this year.

President Joko Widodo has instructed that tourism packages and creative economy exhibitions be prepared to promote Indonesia's tourism to U-17 World Cup spectators, participants, and their families, Uno said.

The minister affirmed that all flagship tourism destinations and creative products will be ready to welcome foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia for the World Cup.

He said that the FIFA U-17 World Cup should be optimized to attract foreign tourists to Indonesia, as the growth of Indonesia's tourism sector has currently surpassed expectations.

"FIFA U-17 World Cup participants will certainly come with their parents and families. We will also promote to countries we believe will be our target market. This is our opportunity that we should optimize," Uno added.

He expects that the World Cup momentum will bolster Indonesia's tourism and economy sectors.

"We should be thankful, and we should continue this leap by creating innovations to ensure this kind of international sports event will benefit the people," the minister added.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Anton Santoso
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