REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Tourism Minister Arief Yahya held bilateral talks with the officials of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) during his Chinese tour on January 11-13, 2015, to promote Indonesian tourism.

Addressing the media here Wednesday, the minister said he and a CNTA representative have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to attract more Chinese tourists to Indonesia.

"With the MOU, we are determined to increase the number of tourists visiting each other's countries up to two million by late 2015," he added.

Indonesia's travel agents and operators, who were also part of the minister's entourage, met with the representatives of China's top five travel agents.

Between January and November 2014, 883,725 Chinese tourists visited Indonesia, making China the fourth largest tourism source country, followed by Singapore (1.32 million), Malaysia (1.12 million), and Australia (996,032).

"If our expectation in 2014 was to receive one million Chinese tourists, we are optimistic that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia will reach two million by the end of 2015," Minister Yahya pointed out.

The minister had flown to China by Garuda's inaugural flight on the Beijing-Denpasar route.

He hailed Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia's decision to increase the number of routes as well as flight frequency to China, which has become a major tourism source market.

Bali has become one of the favorite destinations of Chinese tourists, according to a poll conducted by the Beijing People's Broadcasting in 2011.

Other favorite tourism destinations are Australia, Cape Town Edinburgh, Hawaii, Madrid, Egypt, Niaga Fall, Paris, and Switzerland.

Based on the Indonesian tourism ministry's data, the average stay of a Chinese tourist in Indonesia lasts between four and five days, with his/her spending reaching up to US$100 to US$110 per day.

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