Although the Indonesian government scrapped visit visa requirements for another 45 countries in mid-2015 (for a maximum stay period in Indonesia of 30 days) - with the aim of attracting more tourists - there has not been a marked increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2015. Therefore it is unlikely that Indonesia will achieve its target of welcoming 10 million foreign tourists in 2015. In the first ten months of the year a total of 8.0 million foreign tourist arrivals were reported.

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Although the Indonesian government's target of welcoming 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 seems highly ambitious given that Indonesia may fail to achieve its target of seeing 10 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2015, several analysts claim that this target is too low. They believe that the target should be raised to 33 million foreign visitors, earning USD $40 billion in foreign exchange, hence replacing crude palm oil as the country's leading foreign exchange earner. However, this new target would only be possible if the government is serious about developing its 10 designated tourist destinations.

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Arief Yahya, Indonesia's Minister of Tourism, said domestic tourists in Indonesia have spent more than IDR 140 trillion (approx. USD $10.1 billion) during the first nine months of 2015 and this figure is expected to rise sharply as many locals will use the Christmas and New Year period to take a holiday somewhere in the world's largest Archipelago. It is estimated that in the January-September 2015 period, domestic tourists made 187.3 million trips. This implies that in each trip a local tourist spends about IDR 750,000 (approx. USD $54) for transportation, hotels, food and souvenirs.

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The room occupancy rate for starred hotels in Bogor (West Java) is expected to decline further in 2016 as growth in demand for hotel rooms in Bogor is outpaced by growth in the hotel room supply. Bogor and the surrounding area (which includes mountain resorts) is a key cultural and tourist center in Indonesia. Located approximately 60 kilometers south of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, most demand (more than 90 percent) for Bogor hotel rooms comes from Jakarta.

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In line with rising tourism in Indonesia, the value of hotel construction in Southeast Asia's largest economy is expected to grow 16 percent to IDR 21 trillion (approx. USD $1.6 billion) in 2016. Most of the new projects - roughly 21 percent - are located in the Greater Jakarta area. Besides tapping the tourism potential, hotel developers also want to tap the business potential, meaning that due to expected accelerated economic growth in 2016, there will arrive more foreign businessmen in Indonesia to attend meetings and other activities, particularly as the ASEAN Economic Community comes online.

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The Kagum Group, a hospitality management company in Indonesia, is eager to expand into the sharia tourism sector by establishing a chain of sharia hotels across Indonesia. Sharia hotels are hotels that follow Islamic principles such as offering separated indoor (protected from public view) swimming pools for men and women or serving halal food and beverages (excluding pork and alcoholic drinks). Through sharia-compliant hotels, the group targets to welcome more tourists from the Middle East.

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In line with estimates, Indonesia posted 0.08 percent (m/m) deflation in October 2015. Deflation was primarily caused by lower food prices in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Annual inflation eased to 6.25 percent (y/y) and is expected to ease more markedly in the last two months of the year as the impact of last year November's subsidized fuel price hike will be swept away from inflation figures. Indonesia's core inflation - which excludes volatile food and administered prices - was 5.02 percent (y/y) in October.

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Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, has a population that numbers 10.2 million people. Besides this big number, the population of Jakarta is also characterized by being a young (productive) population and by having a relatively high per capita GDP. Together, these factors give rise to high (and increasing) demand for recreational activities in the capital city.

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On 25 October 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic subjects such as the government's fifth stimulus package, Indonesia's tourism and automotive industries, Bank Indonesia's inflation forecast, a stock & rupiah update, the latest World Bank report, commodity updates, and more.

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In Indonesia, authorities temporarily closed down operations at five airports, including international airport Ngurah Rai in Denpasar on Indonesia’s tourist hotspot Bali. This decision was made due to the eruption of Mount Raung (located in East Java). The volcano’s level of activity has increased over the past seven days and is now spewing ash and debris high into the air, jeopardizing the safety of air passengers. Due to the shutdown of the five airports, it is estimated that thousands of travelers have been affected.

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In early May 2017 it was reported in Indonesian media that a tourist from Singapore was bitten by a komodo dragon in the Komodo National Park, a famous park - located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the eastern part of Indonesia - that was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO as well as selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. It is a popular tourist destination for both local and foreign tourists as they can observe the komodo dragon, a large lizard that has a dangerous venomous bite and fearsome reputation.

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Indonesia's Tourism Ministry is optimistic it can boost the number of American tourists who visit Indonesia by 25 percent to 375,000 individuals in 2017. Last year a total of 300,000 US citizens visited Indonesia for a holiday, up 11 percent year-on-year (y/y) from US visitor arrivals in the preceding year. Arief Yahya, Indonesian Tourism Minister, said the island of Bali is the favorite tourist destination for American tourists in Indonesia.

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Labuan Bajo, a small harbor town on the island of Flores in Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara region, is considered the "new Bali" due to its huge tourism potential. Blessed with beautiful and idyllic natural scenery (including beaches and offshore islands), foreign and domestic tourists will surely have a great experience. Although there are already about a dozen of high-class hotels (4 or 5 stars) and it is fairly well connected to other parts of Indonesia (through its Komodo Airport and port), the small fishing town remains underdeveloped for now.

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Elly Dimara never thought that he would be interested to open an inn named Piaynemo Homestay. Well, until five years ago. "I saw the great tourism potential of Raja Ampat. Moreover, I realized that I have a great plot of land that I can develop into a tourist attraction", Elly said.

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Indonesia's national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is ready to open a new flight route between the famous island of Bali and Chengdu (the provincial capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China) in order to cater Chinese passengers going to Bali. Arif Wibowo, General Director of Garuda Indonesia, informed that this new international route is scheduled to be opened in January 2017. He added that Chengdu has great potential in terms of boosting foreign tourist arrivals to Bali. Garuda Indonesia already flies passengers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to Jakarta.

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In Indonesia media are currently not focused on the Giro d'Italia or the upcoming Tour de France but rather on the Tour de Flores, the first ever cycling race as well as the first ever international sporting event that is organized on the island of Flores in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Between 18 and 23 May 2016, 160 competitors from 16 countries participate in the Tour de Flores competing for IDR 1 billion (approx. USD $75,000) in prize money over a 743-kilometer track (in five stages) across the island's spectacular landscape.

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Until 19 March, a Belgian mission - led by Princess Astrid, accompanied by four ministers and 301 participants (including 127 company representatives) - visits Indonesia in an effort to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between both nations and boost foreign direct investment from Belgium into Indonesia. According to the Belgian Embassy, the ongoing mission in Indonesia is the fifth - and largest ever - economic mission conducted by Belgium in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Belgium is the fifth-largest investor from the European Union (EU).

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Indonesia's Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the government plans to offer the visa-free entry facility to 84 additional countries in 2016. This facility means that foreigners from designated countries do not need to obtain a visit visa before entering Indonesian territory (for visits under 30 days). This visa-free entry facility makes it easier for foreign tourists to enter Indonesia, and therefore it should boost tourist figures and foreign exchange earnings from the tourism industry.

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Indonesia was visited by 6.3 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2015, up 2.7 percent (y/y) from the same period last year. However, foreign visitor arrivals on Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, fell 11.3 percent (y/y) in August due to the temporary closure of Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport as Mount Raung (located in East Java) spew volcanic ash into the sky. This led to a sharp drop in Australian tourists entering Bali.

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Recently the president issued Presidential Regulation number 69 of 2015 on Exemptions of Visit Visa (Visit Visa Regulation). Before the issuance of the Visit Visa Regulation, foreigners were obliged to obtain a Visit Visa before being able to enter Indonesia. Under the new regulation foreigners are exempted from this obligation. The Visit Visa Regulation is an attempt of the Indonesian government to boost the tourist industry and increase the number of foreign tourist in Indonesia. The Visit Visa Regulation is in force since June 10, 2015.

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