"We can explore the direct flight options."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and India have expressed hope that direct flight services between the two countries will attract more Indian tourists to Indonesia and boost its tourism industry.

"By providing direct flights, the number of tourists from India will increase," Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry`s Director for International Tourism Promotion Nia Niscaya said at the ASEAN-India Business Seminar for Progress and Prosperity held here on Wednesday.

She said the Indonesian government should focus on providing direct flight services in order to increase the number of India visitors to Indonesia.

"Tourists generally prefer direct flights, but currently they have to stop over first in Singapore or Malaysia," Niscaya noted.

She also pointed out that the number of Indian visitors to Indonesia was nevertheless increasing every year.

"If the government provides the services soon, we will see a sharp rise in the number of Indian tourists," Niscaya stated.

Based on data collected from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, the government has set itself a target of attracting 180,000 Indian visitors to Indonesia.

According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, the number of Indian visitors to Indonesia has increased by 7.93 percent, reaching 115,219 during January-August 2012, compared with 106,758 visitors in the same period last year.

Moreover, Indonesian tourism has a good image, so it attracts a lot of Indian visitors, even if they need to take more than one flight to reach Indonesia, Niscaya said.

"Image is a critical factor in tourism, so we have to maintain this good image of Indonesia, which offers natural beauty, friendly people and unique culture," she added.

The low budget for promotion of Indonesian destinations also hampers tourism, Niscaya pointed out.

She noted that the ministry has so far allocated only Rp3 billion for the promotion of tourism.

"Although the budget does not include advertisement costs, it is still low if compared to other countries` budgets for tourism promotion," Niscaya said.

At the same event, the ambassador of India to Indonesia, Gurjit Singh, expressed hope that more Indian tourists would visit Indonesia.

"I hope more Indian visitors will come not only to Bali but also to other tourist spots in Indonesia," he said.

He also expressed his support for provision of direct flight services by Indonesian airlines, particularly Garuda Indonesia.

"We can explore the direct flight options, as well as infrastructure development which plays a critical role," he stated.

Singh said he would encourage Indian tourists to visit Indonesia.

"As of now, as many as 50,000 Indian tourists have visited Indonesia. Hopefully we can cooperate to double it to 100,000 visitors," he added.
(T.J010/INE/KR-BSR/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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