Apart from enacting the new visa policy, he said, Indonesia currently conducts several programs to promote its tourism sites to the world, including attending tourism expos and sponsoring art exhibitions for international viewers.
Earlier, Tourism and Creative Economic Minister Marie Elka Pangestu said Europe remains a potential market for Indonesian tourism.
"Although an economic crisis is taking place there, Europe is still a potential market for Indonesia`s tourism. Tourism is a sector which remains strong during a crisis," the minister said.
She noted that economic turmoil was taking place in a number of European countries, yet the tourism sector there, adversely, was growing.
Spain and Greece, for example, experienced an 8 to 9 percent growth in their tourism sector, the minister said.
"Even inbound tourism in the United States grew by 5 percent," she added.
Late last month, the World Economic Forum in Davos concluded that the highest growth in the tourism sector would take place in Asia, Mari said.
"Growth will take place in Asia, so we will continue to increase promotional efforts and seek ways to build more effective connectivity," the tourism minister said.
Marie noted that the connectivity factor included infrastructures, flight quotas and other supporting facilities which still faced constraints at home.
Until now, Indonesia has been focusing its tourism market on a number of countries in Europe. These countries continued to experience positive growth in 2011.
Those European countries included Britain (grew by 3.73 percent), the Netherlands (2.88 pct), Germany (2.29 pct) and Russia (14.92 pct).
(SYS/A051/F001)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
