REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIJING -- Indonesia still needs to increase tourism promotion to China with regard to maximizing tourist arrivals from that country, the country's Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya has said.

"Honestly, even now few people in China know Indonesia. That is our mistake. Therefore, we will keep boosting tourism promotion in China," he said during a visit to Beijing from May 19 to 21.

One of the efforts has been to participate in the Beijing Tourism International event from May 20 to 22, he said.

The number of tourists from China visiting countries across the world in 2015 reached 120 million, sharply increasing from only 2.98 million in 1992.

"But of that total, only 1.2 million or merely around one percent visit Indonesia. So, there is still another 99 percent to be wooed," he said.

In view of that the Indonesian government has set a target of increasing tourist arrivals from China to two millions or increase the current number by 800 thousand, he said.

"The target is realistic as until March 2016 the number of tourists from China to Indonesia was recorded at an average of 130 thousand," he said.

Besides intensifying promotion efforts the minister hoped there would also be more non-stop, regular and non-scheduled flights between Indonesia and China.

"Right now we have only absorbed 37 percent of non-stop flights between Indonesia and China while most Chinese tourists prefer non-stop flights," he said.

In connection with that he urged national airlines to seriously tap the flight route to China. "It will certainly be very effective and efficient because the Chinese market is huge," he said.

It is not only Indonesia that has targeted China, "but even the United States is looking to boost its tourism industry," he said.

Indonesian Ambassador to China Soegeng Rahardjo said that he had kept striving to promote Indonesia to the people of China, "including the opening of regular and chartered non-stop flights from China to Indonesia. Providing easy access is important if we wish to increase tourist arrivals."

China is at present Indonesia's main tourist market. The Indonesian government has set a target of receiving two million foreign tourists a year with an annual growth of 11.39 percent and a foreign exchange income from them at US$2.1 million.

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