Vigorous Promotion, Visits of Foreign Tourist Potentially Increases in 2018

INDUSTRY.co.id - Denpasar - The Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) is optimistic that foreign tourist arrivals in 2018 will grow positively as the economies of some countries that are growing in market share are China, India, Japan and South Korea.

"The growing economies of the emerging markets are in touch with people traveling abroad," said Deputy Minister for Tourism Development and Marketing Kemenpar I Gde Pitana after speaking at a sales and marketing summit of 2017 in Denpasar, yesterday.

He will optimize tourism promotion activities by targeting certain segments of both conventional marketing and utilizing information technology through promotion in the network.

Kemenpar targeting 17 million foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in 2018 and the last year before 2019 which is expected to meet the target of 20 million foreign tourists.

Although the year 2018 is the year of elections held simultaneously in 171 provinces, districts and cities in Indonesia, Pitana is optimistic that the democratic event does not have a significant impact on tourism.

"We are not afraid of Election and no influence to foreign tourists," he added.

Precisely, he said, the democracy party will mobilize the regional economy as more and more hotels are the venues for the implementation of the convention, including the small economy that is boosted by the large number of campaign needs such as banners published.

Meanwhile, related to Bali, as a barometer of Indonesian tourism currently facing volcanic activity of Gunung Agung in Kabupaten Karangasem, Pitana admits there is a decrease in the growth of foreign tourists when the status of the volcano rises from alert to alert in September 2017.

During the period of September 2017 the growth of foreign tourists in Bali reached about 25 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

But in October 2017, foreign tourists to Bali grew six percent when compared to the same period the previous year.

"There is growth but decline, about the effect of cancellation due to the issue of Gunung Agung, but the situation in Bali is all still in a normal atmosphere," he told the media crew.

Nevertheless, Pitana said that promotional activities should be done by adhering to the principle of accuracy, can be trusted with the right time