INDONESIA HOPING TO LURE CHINESE TOURISTS DURING LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAY by Fardah

Jakarta, Jan 30, 2016 (Antara) - Indonesia is hoping to lure more Chinese tourists to visit the country to celebrate their Lunar New Year, also called Spring Festival, which is the grandest and the most important annual event for Chinese people.

       The festival, with its more than 4,000 years of history, is the longest public holiday in China. Most employees will have 7-12 days off and students will have a month long winter vacation.

         China had the world's largest number of outbound tourists in 2015, according to data from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

       About 120 million Chinese traveled overseas in 2015, up from 109 million the previous year, according to the CNTA.

       This year, the number of Chinese outbound tourists is expected to reach nearly 200 million.

         Therefore, many countries want to attract them, particularly during the Chinese New Year, which is known as Imlek by Indonesians and will fall on February 8.        
    New Zealand, for instance, is expected to receive nearly 50,000 Chinese holidaymakers during the so-called "golden week" starting February 7 and coinciding with the New year holiday week, according to Stuff.co.nz.

         Indonesia also sees the Imlek as an occasion that can add momentum to the efforts to boost the number of Chinese visitors. 
   Garuda Indonesia comes up with both regular and charter flight services to fly Chinese holidaymakers to the Bali Island.

       Several Chinese tourists, however, reportedly cancelled their plans to visit Bali by chartered planes following the Jakarta terror attack early this year.

       But Chinese tourists using regular flights will go  ahead with their plans to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Bali, Chairman of the Indonesian Travel Agent Association (Asita)'s Bali branch, Ketut Ardana, said recently.

         Furthermore, the Indonesian government has told Chinese tourists that the country remains safe for foreign tourists, including those wanting to celebrate Imlek at its tourist resorts.

        The security situation has returned to normal and the country is safe for tourists, Deputy Director of the Sale Mission for Asia and the Pacific of the Tourism Ministry, Jordi Paliama, told Chinese travel agents in Beijing, China, recently.

         "Now, the security situation in Jakarta, Bali and all Indonesian regions is safe and remains under control," he stated.

       He said Indonesia is home to the world's largest Chinese descent population outside China.

       "So, when you come to Indonesia, consider it your second home. You will feel that you are visiting a home of your relatives," he remarked.

        Indonesia has prepared various attractions, including "barongsai" dragon dance, for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

        "So, Indonesia is safe for Chinese tourists, including for those wanting to celebrate Imlek," he noted.

         The spokesman of the Indonesian embassy in Beijing, Santo Darmosusanto, said the Indonesian authorities have been serious in tackling the issue of terrorism.

        "The Indonesian government is very caring and serious regarding the safety of its people and foreign nationals in its regions, both who are there for work or just to spend their holidays," he said.

        Foreign tourists should not be scared of visiting Indonesia which is very safe and conducive to travel, he added.

        Indonesia hopes to lure 12 million foreign tourists, particularly from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Australia and Japan, this year.

        "From China, especially, we plan to attract a total of 1.7 million tourists to spend holidays in Indonesia," he said, addressing some 100 Chinese businessmen engaged in tourism industry.

         The number of Chinese tourists who visited Indonesia in 2014 was 959,231. It increased by 18.77 percent to 1,139,281 in 2015.

         In the first eight months of 2015, the number of Chinese visitors to Indonesia had increased year on year by 25 percent.

         In the previous years, the number of Chinese visitors to Bali had increased by 20 percent during Imlek.

         Bali's Asita is optimistic of witnessing a surge in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Bali in 2016.

        The number of Chinese tourist arrivals in Bali has increased significantly over the past few years, making China the second-largest tourist contributor, after Australia.

       From January to November 2015, Bali received 642 thousand Chinese tourists, up 19 percent from 539,371 tourists recorded in the same period in 2014.

        Bali has set a target to attract 4.2 million foreign tourists in 2016, a slight increase from four million in 2015.

        Direct flights from Chinese cities to Bali Island could help increase the number of Chinese tourist arrivals, Chairman of Asita Bali I Ketut Ardana stated in Denpasar, Bali, on Jan. 18.

       On January 12, 2016, Garuda Indonesia launched a direct flight connecting Shanghai in China with Denpasar in Bali Island.  
   Garuda Indonesia serves the Denpasar-Shanghai route thrice a week on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday using the A330-300 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 360 passengers. 
   Earlier, Garuda had been already operating regular flights on the Denpasar-Beijing and Denpasar-Guangzhou routes.

         Commercial Director of Garuda Indonesia Handayani noted in a statement recently that China had been one of the priority areas for the airline's international flights aimed at facilitating tourists from the world's most populous country.

       In the meantime, the West Nusa Tenggara city of Mataram will host this year's international celebrations of  Chinese lunar new year, to be held on February 20.

       Head of the city tourism office H Abdul Latif Nadjib predicted  more than 5,000 people from various countries and other areas of  Indonesia would flock to Mataram to take part in the celebrations.

        "It is the first Lunar new year celebration  being organized internationally and the city of Mataram is honored to host the celebrations,"  Abdul Latif said in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.

        The decision to select Mataram as the host was made at a coordinating meeting with the Chinese Consulate General in Bali.

       The celebrations, expected to promote the province's tourism, will feature social activities such as blood donation and entertainment, including a circus  brought in from China.

        There will be 1,000 paper lanterns  to be lighted along the  street of AA Gede Ngurah Cakranegara, a Chinese town in the city  where the celebrations would be centered.

        China is among a number of countries whose people are given the visa free facility for short term visits earlier this year.  The policy is aimed at attracting more foreign tourists to Indonesia. ***1***
(f001/INE/f001)