The President Post 29th Edition

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Display until December 12, 2011 /// N0. 29

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Jakarta Wins Best Tourism Province Award

million tourist arrivals for 2012

The Jakarta provincial government has won The Best Province for Tourism Development award during the Indonesia Tourism Award (ITA) 2011 event.

$8.98

The award was in recognition of the Jakarta administration`s hard work and high commitment to developing the capital`s tourism industry, Head of the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office Arie Budhiman said here on Thursday. "We must thank God. The achievement belongs to all elements of the tourism sector and all residents of the capital who have turned Jakarta into the best province in developing tourism in Indonesia," he said.

billion foreign exchange earnings projected to reach

Investing heavily in infrastructure will allow us to rapidly develop tourism.” Mari Elka Pangestu Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry

7.35% increase compared to this year`s growth

Govt Upbeat on RI Tourism T

billion allocated for economic development in eastern Indonesia

On the same occasion, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said tourism should be further developed because it was an engine for economic growth and one of the most important industries in terms of creating jobs. “Seven million tourists created jobs for 10.5 million Indonesians last year. This shows the significant impact of the tourism sector on the economy,” Hatta said.

THE ECONOMY

RI Economy Faces Three Challenges in 2012: BI BI as Indonesia's monetary authority, would adopt a policy to maintain resilience and capability so that monetary stability would remain under control. PAGE A4

Foreign visitors up 8% in Jan-Oct period

BPS reported that 656,000 foreign tourists visited Indonesia in October alone, up 10.32% from the same month last year. Bali remains the top tourist destination, with 244,421 of the October visitors entering the country through Bali's main gateway, Ngurah Rai International Airport. The ministry is expecting 9.5 million arrivals in 2014 with tourist expenditures reaching $10.93 billion. Based on 2010 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) data, Indonesia’s tourism sector contributed 9.1% to gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 8.9 million people. The WTTC data also showed Indonesia’s investment in the tourism sector rose 4.2% in 2010.

In addition to foreign visitors, the number of domestic tourists was also on the rise due to the increase in people’s buying power, Hatta said, adding that the middle-class in Indonesia was growing annually by between 8 and 9 million people, who were now seeking ways to spend their leisure time.

6.27 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia from January to October this year, an increase of 8.27% compared with the same period last year, the BPS reported recently. The figure, however, represents only 81% of the targeted number of foreign tourist visits in the country as of year-end, which is 7.7 million people. However, Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry spokesman I Gusti Ngurah Putra told the media that the government was optimistic that the target could be reached because November and December were among the peak holiday months.

The government seems resolved to boost the country’s tourism by announcing an allocation of Rp 210 trillion ($23.3 billion) toward economic development in eastern Indonesia. Minister Mari, who is also the coordinator of the master

“From year to year, the trend of foreign tourist arrivals in November and December continues to increase. With stable political conditions and security, 7.7 million tourists will come to Indonesia by the end of the year,” said Putra.

In a related development, the chairman of the Indonesian chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), SD Darmono, hailed the government’s strong determination to bolster tourism and expressed his optimism that next year’s target would be achieved. “I am sure Minister Mari will do a good job in taking our tourism off the ground,” he said. To be sure, Darmono is a major player in developing the country’s tourism. He has a vision to develop 100 top tourism sites around the country, starting with Borobudur in East Java and Tanjung Lesung in West Java. He is set to reshape the tourism industry as chairman of PT Taman Wisata Candi, Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko, the state-owned company in charge of managing the land around the fa-

Seven million tourists created jobs for 10.5 million Indonesians last year. This shows the significant impact of the tourism sector on the economy.” Hatta Rajasa Coordinating Economic Minister

AROUND JABABEKA

The 3rd Jababeka International Cultural Festival Opens to Promote Better Understanding This year’s theme is “The Power of Culture”. PAGE A6

plan to accelerate development in the country’s Economic Corridor V (Bali and Nusa Tenggara), said that the money would be spent on 136 projects in the area. The tourism sector, which Mari singled out as a main driver for growth in eastern Indonesia, would receive 28% of the investment, she said, mainly through infrastructure projects. “Investing heavily in infrastructure will allow us to rapidly develop tourism,” Mari said, adding that “apart from Bali, another tourism magnet in the area is East Nusa Tenggara’s Komodo Island,” Mari said.

BUSINESS

"The award is part of a step to appreciate regional governments' effort in developing tourism industry as well as in promoting tourism operators in their respective region."

$23.3

JAKARTA (TPP) – The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has set the target of tourist arrivals for 2012 at 8 million, with foreign exchange earnings projected to reach $8.98 billion. The figure represented a 7.35% increase compared to this year`s, Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry Mari Elka Pangestu said here on Friday. However, the growth in terms of arrivals will slow down next year as many visitors from Europe may cancel their trips to the country due to the region’s economic problems. “Next year’s growth target is not as high as this year’s as we have learned from the global financial crisis in 2008,” Mari told the media on the sidelines of The National Tourism Conference at the Sahid Hotel here last week. Foreign tourist arrivals only grew 1.43% in 2009 to 6.32 million people due to the 2008 economic downturn, according to the state-run statitics body BPS. Foreign tourist expenditure also dropped from $7.35 billion in 2008 to $6.3 billion in 2009. “However, we are optimistic that we will still attract more tourists to Indonesia next year, but the length of their stays will likely be shorter with less spending,” she said.

IDR 20,000

2011 REVIEW

Minister Gives High Marks to Garuda, Bank Mandiri, BRI

2011 Moments to Remember

Dahlan Iskan has praised the boards of directors for being able to bring about a transformation in their corporate businesses amid the global economic crisis. PAGE B1

What will 2011 be remembered for? Several events that happened in 2011 continue to remain topics of conversation among Indonesians. PAGE C1

mous heritage sites in East Java. “We want to use Borobudur as the icon of Indonesia to promote the spiritual wealth of the nation,” he says in an interview recently. “Once people visit Borobudur on a large scale, Indonesia will be seen as a tolerant nation and this in turn will promote investments.” His goal is to create 100 such destinations across the country so as to attract 20 million visitors a year by 2020. As part of this program he is set to make Jakarta the gateway for tourism in the country.

Based on 2010 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) data, Indonesia’s tourism sector contributed 9.1% to gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 8.9 million people.

He recently acquired 1,340 hectares for Rp1.5 trillion in Tanjung Lesung, West Java. Located next to the Ujong Kulong National Park, Tanjung Lesung has long been the seaside playground for Jakartans seeking some sun and sea. “I am building a township that is similar to Sentosa in Singapore,” says Darmono.“It will have a golf course, a marina, ho-

tels and resorts as well as major tourist attractions.” With visionary players like Darmono and government officials like Mari on hand, one can readily expect the country’s tourism to really take off and claim its rightful place in the major league.

The event was held annually by the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry in cooperation with SWA magazine, he said. "The award is part of a step to appreciate regional governments` effort in developing tourism industry as well as in promoting tourism operators in their respective region," he said. The award was based on the results of a survey conducted on a number of cities/districts selected based on the amount of budget funds allocated to the tourism sector as well as on the outcome of focus group discussion (FGD) organized by the magazine`s editorial team. The survey was conducted to choose the best district/city in terms of tourism service, favorite tourist destination city, favorite tourist site, and the best tourism supporting industries divided into nine sub-categories, namely nonstar hotel, star-rated hotel, airline, travel agent, taxi, restaurant, golf court, spa and mall.

Garuda Indonesia, Jababeka Enter Into Corporate Sales Partnership PT Garuda Indonesia and PT Jababeka on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on corporate sales. Both sides were represented by President Director/CEO of Garuda Indonesia Emirsyah Satar and President Director of PT Jababeka SD Darmono at the President Executive Club, Jababeka, Cikarang. The agreement allows all employees of PT Jababeka and the industrial park’s tenants and their families to fly with Garuda Indonesia, on both domestic and international routes, at special prices. They are also eligible to enjoy special services in the form of corporate special fares, priority reservations, and city check-in. These services include not only for official travel, but also for personal travel for Jababeka employees and their families. "As the number of tenants is over 1,500 local and international companies, PT Jababeka is a very promising market for Garuda Indonesia," said Emirsyah in Jababeka. Meanwhile, SD Darmono said that there are 600,000 employees from 30 countries in Jababeka. Jababeka has also forged an alliance with seven other regions and the so-called International Zone (Zoni) with a central meeting in the Pres-

PT Garuda Indonesia and PT Jababeka on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on corporate sales. Both sides were represented by President Director/CEO of Garuda Indonesia Emirsyah Satar and President Director of PT Jababeka SD Darmono at the President Executive Club, Jababeka, Cikarang.

ident Executive Club. He added that Jababeka also plans to open a flight school with international standards in the form of a ground school at the President University on April 2012. He also expressed his delight with the cooperation between Garuda Indonesia and the Jababeka. "With this cooperation, Jababeka tenants and employees and their families are assured of enjoyable business and travel trips." SD Darmono further said that "It would be very helpful if Garuda provides helicopter services, because the Cikarang-Cengkareng distance requires at least two hours’ of travel time because of the traffic." He also hopes to see Garuda to establish a branch of-

fice and a check-in service in Jababeka. In his reply, Emirsyah said "we plan to open many branch offices early next year, one of which is in Jababeka if we can get a prime spot. We are also keen to build a hotel through our subsidiary, Aerotel, in Jababeka. We also are planning to organize helicopter services, with a helipad placed in the middle of Jakarta. We also plan one to cover the CikarangCengkareng route and are still seeking a flight zone license". So far Garuda has corporate sales partnerships with more than 1,400 major companies in Indonesia with a total revenue of nearly Rp 1.5 trillion.


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