Indonesia Promote Tourism in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman

INDUSTRY.co.id - Manama - The Ministry of Tourism focuses on the promotion of Indonesian tourism in the Gulf region  to five countries namely Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.

Head of Tourism and Introduction of European, Middle Eastern, American and African Markets, Tourism Ministry, Rita Sofia Abdul Haris, in Manama on Sunday (17/12/2017) said the five countries are potential to bring tourists to Indonesia.

Rita Sofia Abdul Haris explains, actually the promotion of tourism to some countries in the Gulf region, especially Bahrain has been done, but in 2011 was stopped because the ministry budget when it is classified as small so it must be selected-select which countries are of great potential to be able to bring tourists to Indonesia.

"In 2017 we start again, for Bahrain, the reason is that business players see Bahrain as a potential, because the second reason is that Bahrain is close to Saudi Arabia so that many Saudi Arabs are on holiday to Bahrain," she said as quoted by Antara.

In Saudi Arabia there is a Damam City which is only three hours drive to Bahrain.

"Bahrain is already a free country (liberal) so that many foreigners (expatriates) living in Bahrain, especially the citizens of Saudi Arabia," she said.

Therefore, continued Rita, if Indonesia made tourism promotion event in Bahrain, then it is the same as promoting tourism Indonesia also to Arabs and foreigners from various countries.

Tourists from Saudi Arabia, he said, quite royal, can spend 2300 US dollars per visit per person, much higher for example compared with tourists from Malaysia who only spend about 500 US dollars per visit.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia for the Kingdom of Bahrain, Nur Syahrir Rahardjo, said that although the number of tourists visiting Bahrain to Indonesia is relatively small, continues to increase.

The number of tourists visiting Bahrain in Indonesia in 2016 is 1,641 people and based on data from the Embassy of Indonesia in Manama, until October 2017 has reached 2,470 people, out of a total of about 1.5 million people of Bahrain.

"But there are actually many expatriates living in Bahrain but using their respective country passports, who are on holiday to Indonesia, of which 1.5 percent of Bahrainis, only 40 percent are native Bahrainis, 60 percent are expatriates," he said.