REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Tourism Ministry is set to launch marine tourism campaigns in Fiji on June 20 and in New Zealand on June 22-24 in a bid to attract more tourists from the two countries.
The campaigns will target yacht communities in the two nations to sail to Indonesia to enjoy marine tourism, Arif Yahya, the tourism minister, noted in a press statement released on Tuesday.
"The deregulation (of the policy on yacht visits) has been undertaken by a team led by Indroyono Soesilo. He is a maritime expert and once held the post of coordinating minister for maritime affairs," he remarked.
One of the successes achieved by Soesilo is the deregulation of the Clearance Approval for Indonesian Territory (CAIT) to enter the Indonesian waters, he pointed out.
In the past, it took up to three weeks for yachts to secure permits to enter the Indonesian waters.
"Now, it takes only three hours to secure a permit to enter the Indonesian waters. We have set ourselves the target of reducing the time to one hour," he affirmed.
To attract more tourists, the government has simplified the approval procedure for yachts entering the Indonesian waters through the CAIT system.
The government hoped to double the number of yachts coming to the country this year from last year's 750.