16 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Indonesia… More Wonder Multi-target campaign boosts tourism for region To start 2016 with new hope and spirit, Indonesia has just rejuvenated its “Wonderful Indonesia” formulation. Further to this, huge strides have been made in the freeing-up of visa regulations for a number of countries. We asked Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Arief Yahya to tell us a little more… Arief Yahya Minister of Tourism of Indonesia The Ministry of Tourism launched the newest logo and 5 distinctive selling points of Wonderful Indonesia under five thematic Wonderful Experience, which are: NATURAL WONDERS: Sea, Mountain, Forest, desert, valley, river, beach, cave, snow? Is it possible to have all of these wonders in one country? Yes: in Indonesia. Indonesia, with more than 13,000 islands is the world’s largest archipelago with countless options for natural tourism. CULTURAL WONDERS: Indonesia is famous for its diverse heritage that has been inherited over the centuries. Some of it was even established before the 10th century and has been officially recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage, such as the magnificent Borobudur temple. Along with Borobudur, people can marvel at the many cultural traditions in Bali, the Island of the Gods, the provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, among many others. SENSORY WONDERS: Indonesia also offers sensory wonders through local and international culinary, wellness, and all kinds of entertainment options round the clock in the big cities. MODERN WONDERS: Indonesia has several cities that never sleep, the biggest of which are Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya. Visitors can experience the best of an energetic city life at a very affordable price. ADVENTUROUS WONDERS: Indonesia offers different experiences for adventurous travellers: walk around with the Komodo dragon, the giant lizard that has dinosaur ancestors, explore the caves to see the “heaven light”, or climb the Rinjani mountain to see the blue fire in the Ijen crater. Those are the five united Wonderful Indonesia brand essences that will merge with the national Indonesia Tourism identity. One of the biggest items of news for the industry in 2015 was the freeing-up of visa regulations for 90 countries. How has this gone down so far with the industry? Actually by the end of Dec, 2015 Indonesia’s visafree entry countries had skyrocketed from 15 to 174! Now virtually every country in the world can send its citizens to enjoy “Wonderful Indonesia” visa-free. This visa free for tourism purposes is for a stay of up to 30 days. On 12 June 2015, Indonesia added another 30 countries to the visa free list bringing the total to 45 countries. On October 2015, another 45 countries were added, bringing the total to 90 countries. On 21 December, the Indonesian Government announced that another 84 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 10 th March 2016 www.itb-berlin-news.com
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 17 ful Than Ever! countries would be added to the visa free list. These will add up to 174 countries. As you can imagine, both the Indonesian tourism industry as well as our partners overseas are delighted by this “visa free” policy, which encourages more visitors to come at less expense and makes entry hasslefree on arrival. We expect visitor numbers to climb significantly as a result of this policy. Regulations have been greatly eased for foreign leisure yachts to tour Indonesia’s islands. What does this change and how will it help tourism? In 2011, Indonesia signed into law a new maritime tourism regulation that will change the face of yachting, not only within Indonesia but throughout the region. November 2011, it was officially stated that the PIB Customs Bond had been eliminated by the Indonesian Customs Department and replaced with a new and more amicable system. In 2015, to make things even easier for yachters, Indonesia created President Decree 105 of 2015. The convenience permit includes the liberalization of CIQP (Customs, Immigration, Quarantine, Port Clearance) and the removal of CAIT (Clearance Approval for Indonesia Territory) or TIP (Temporary Import Permit). Further to this, the Ministry of Transportation Regulation No.171 states that all the CIQP Paperwork will be done in 1 day maximum. The customs form that took up so much time will be simplified into a single (one page) declaration form. Clearance is only required at entry and departure ports, domestic clearance is no longer required. These new regulations are being applied at the 18 entry and exit ports. In December 2015, Vice President Jusuf Kalla officially established the Mandalika Resort area in Central Lombok as a Special Economic Zone (KEK) dedicated to Tourism Development. How do you expect this to trigger economic and social development? Mandalika’s geographical position and wealth of natural resources make it a natural choice for the government to develop the region commercially and economically. Facing the vast India Ocean, the zone has 7.5 kilometres of white sand beach and is quite popular with surfers and divers throughout the year. Various coral reefs lay under the water of Mandalika’s beaches, which also offer visitors with amazing spots for diving and snorkeling. In the next 15 years, the area is projected to be an integrated resort in 2030 with international standard facilities with more than 10,000 rooms, residential, MICE and Showbiz facility, Theme park, Underwater, River osmosis, Sea Water desalination, Marina, Port terminal and golf course. In terms of connectivity, Mandalika is also easily connected with international airport in Lombok, a destination that is recognized as having the World’s best halal tourism. The accelerated development of the Mandalika resort in Central BY 2019, WE PLAN TO DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF FOREIGN VISITOR ARRIVALS AS COMPARED TO 2014. Lombok aims to help improve economic growth in Indonesia through the Special Economic Zone which does not only aim to maximise tourism potentials but also develop as a centralised food production zone, which includes agriculture, cattle, and maritime. Its location in the hills of Rinjani Mountain also offer a geographically competitive advantage to be developed as a geothermal energy exploration site. Considering such positive forecasts and presence of strong growth drivers, businesses in special economic zones are surely tipped to grow strongly. How is tourism growth progressing this year and what are your projections for the next three to five years? By 2019, we plan to double the number of foreign visitor arrivals as compared to 2014. With the right strategy in marketing, infrastructure improvement, supported regulations, business scheme, and technology development,we are confident to reach the target. What is your key message to the world’s travel agents and tour operators in 2016? The key message is to promote brand essence of Indonesia through the 5 World’s of Wonder in 2016, namely: Natural Wonders, Cultural Wonders, Sensory Wonders, Modern Wonders and Adventurous Wonders. As tourists always are always seeking different activities, they have new destinations to explore. Indonesia has a lot more to offer beyond Bali such as Central Java; Papua; Jakarta, Bandung, Batam and so much more. Come and explore further! ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 10 th March 2016
