REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANYUWANGI -- District Head of Banyuwangi Abdullah Azwar Anas has invited tourism business players to a meeting to discuss preparations for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank later this year. The meeting is to be held in Bali in October but Banyuwangi has been asked to serve as buffer area where part of the estimated 18,000 participants, observers and journalists would land in the Banyuwangi airport, in the eastern coast of Java just across Bali.

"Let us make us of the moment to accelerate economic and tourism development in Banyuwangi. We have invited a number of business players for coordination . They include travel agents, restaurant operators, small souvenir entrepreneurs, etc," Anas said here on Friday.

Anas said he asked the business players to use the opportunities open with the big meeting.

"We have to make the event a success. As said by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani during a visit here recently that Indonesia is a great country, a beautiful country rich in cultures," the regent said.

Anas said the annual meeting of IMF-World Bank, which is to be attended by bankers, high officials from countries all over the world, could serve as a great forum of promotion for the country's tourism industry including that of Banyuwangi.

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"The meeting would be a trigger for the development of Banyuwangi tourism," he said, adding the business players were enthusiastic about the prospects.

Earlier, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya pledged that the Banyuwangi airport would begin to serve international flights in 2019 to draw more foreign tourists to that area .

Arief said the central government wants Banyuwangi, he called the "Sun Rise of Java" to develop its tourism potential.

"Banyuwangi has all the criteria to become a major tourist destination - world class tourism attraction, complete amenities, accessibility, but to become an international destination we need to open international flight routes," he said.

Arief said Banyuwangi already recorded significant success in drawing tourists.

The number of domestic tourists visiting Banyuwangi was recorded at only 497,000 in 2010, but in 2016, the number shot up to 4.01 million. Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists rose from 5,205 in 2010 to 91,000 in 2017, contributing Rp546 billion worth of foreign exchange to the district income.

Potential international routes are the links with Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore, he said.

The momentum is good for Banyuwangi to start opening international flight routes especially with the annual meeting in October this year of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bali.

"That is a big momentum. Banyuwangi already prepares tour packages and the ministry would give full support," Arief said.

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