No surprise: Visit Indonesia Year rolls on
JAKARTA – When you’re on to a good thing, why stop?
That appears to be the reasoning behind Indonesia’s decision to extend Visit Indonesia Year 2008 into VIY 2009.
Toursm minister Jero Wacik, in an interview with Radar Bali and reported in Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com), said this year’s international arrival figures for Indonesia confounded those who doubted his decision to launch VIY 2008.
“Just so you know, many people tried to stop me from launching this (Visit Indonesia Year) programme.
“Many were pessimistic because our airports are not ready and our immigration service is not so good. But I forced these people who were not ready.
“In the beginning there were obvious stumbles. Garuda, immigration and the airports were confused. Nevertheless, once underway, immigration in Bali, which had only 10 service gates, was revamped and now has 30 gates.
“Garuda was even late installing the logo for Visit Indonesia Year. But I used my authority as the Minister of Culture and Tourism and continued to lobby (for the programme’s acceptance.)
“In the end, everyone supported “Visit Indonesia Year”.
Wacik says domestic tourism would be the focus of marketing efforts this year.
“This is an election year. This has potential for tourism,†he said.
“There will appear a new business model – ‘political tourism’.
“Just imagine, the consolidation of 38 different parties via the leadership of local and national councils as they campaign in every corner of the country.
“We can already see this starting to happen. So much so that the continuing campaigns will fill accommodation ranging from home stays to five star plus.”
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025