by Dennis Hanneke

Indonesia – the country comprising over 17,000 tropical islands – will again be present at the prestigious Internationale Tourismus Bourse, ITB, to be held in Berlin, Germany, from 10-13 March 2010.

Represented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Indonesian tourism industry members, Regional Governments and private sector associations, Indonesia’s pavilion covers 800 sq meters located at Hall 26C no. 308 at Messegelande Berlin.

With Garuda Indonesia airline resuming its Europe services starting 1 June this year, and KLM having resumed its Amsterdam-Bali flights, Indonesia is confident that 2010 bodes well for increased travel from Europe to the diverse beautiful destinations in the Indonesian archipelago.

2009 Tourist arrivals steady amidst Global Crisis
In 2009, Indonesia received a total of 6,452,259 international visitors, an increase of 0.36% compared to the previous year. In the year that the world reeled from the global economic crisis, such increase, though small, means that Indonesia’s tourism has held up even during most difficult times. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, world travel was down by 4% in 2009. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region saw a decline of 2% and the South East Asian countries, ASEAN together saw a decline of 0.6% in international arrivals.

Of total visitors to Indonesia, Europeans constituted 9.8% of total arrivals, or 641,024, up 3.92% compared to 2008.

Visitors from Germany numbered 117,216, a decline of 10.95% compared to 2008; from the UK came 160,036 visitors, down 0.98%. Holland, however, provided 144,059 visitors, up 6.22% and France 152,874, up a hefty 28.08%. Visitors from Russia declined (–) 2.62% to 66,839.

Positive Outlook for 2010
In the past year Indonesia’s economy has shown significant resilience to withstand the global economic crisis. The country is now the only one among the ASEAN countries included in the G-7 countries. And, as in 2010 countries around the globe are recovering from the global economic crisis, Indonesia is confident that in 2010 Indonesia’s tourism will grow stronger.

Therefore, for 2010 Indonesia targets a total arrival of 7 million international visitors, increasing 8%-10% from 2009, or above the national economic growth forecast of between 5.5% – 6%. Of total arrivals, 773,000 or 11% are expected to be Europeans visitors, including 162,000 from Germany. While main European markets to Indonesia are: the UK, Germany, Holland, France and Russia.

To ensure increased flow of tourists, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Indonesian travel industry will jointly aggressively promote Indonesia in international events worldwide as well as organize promotional programs and sales missions in the target markets, top of which are Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Vote Komodo: Finalist in New 7 Natural Wonders of the World
Being one of only 28 Finalists among 220 contesting in the New 7 Wonders of the Natural World, Indonesia is calling on the world to vote for the Komodo National Park to be amongst the World’s New 7 Wonders of Nature.

The living prehistoric Komodo dragon, whose ancestors lived some 40 million to 60 million years ago, is the largest carnivorous and cannibalistic monitor lizard on earth. Until 1912 thought to be a mythical legend, the Komodo is capable of eating its prey which has 80% of the dragon’s own weight, in one meal!

Today the Komodo dragons can be found only on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca and parts of the island of Flores, their last habitat on earth. For this reason the Indonesian Government has designated this area a protected National Park where the Komodos are still left in the wild to assure continuity of the species.

The Komodo National Park also covers pristine tropical seas with 50 dive-sites, where divers can view beautiful sea gardens and swim with manta rays and huge turtles. While, on Flores island is found Mt. Kelimutu with its 3-coloured lake, and many traditional villages and communities.

Garuda Indonesia resumes Europe flights 1 June 2010
With the lifting of the EU ban on Indonesian airlines since July 2009, Garuda Indonesia has announced that the airline will resume services to Amsterdam starting 1 June 2010. The daily Jakarta-Amsterdam flights via Dubai will use A330-243 aircrafts, but when the airline receives the new Boeing 777-300ERs, Garuda plans to fly non-stop to Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, with the arrival of the ordered ten B777-300ER aircrafts from 2011 on, the airline plans to further expand its Europe flights non-stop to Frankfurt, Rome, Paris and London.

Garuda Indonesia suspended services to Frankfurt and London in 2002 and to Amsterdam in 2004 owing to weak demand.

In the past years Garuda Indonesia has made a quantum leap, aggressively expanding operating plans, doubling its fleet from 62 to 116 aircrafts with brand new A330-243 and B777-300ER aircrafts, and improving its services, now called : “Garuda Indonesia Experience”.

In January 2010 Skytrax raised Garuda Indonesia’s performance to a Four Star Airline category, at par with Lufthansa and Air France. Garuda Indonesia is rated to have made huge transformations in quality, improving its overall product and service standards.

Meanwhile, Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was rated the second most on-time international airport worldwide by FlightStats, an Oregon-based organization. Jakarta’s international airport came second only toTokyo’s Haneda Airport, followed by Narita Airport which came in third.

Visit Indonesia Year 2010: focus on Visit Museums Year
With successful developments in the regions last year which focused on Marine and Heritage Tourism in the Visit Indonesia Year 2009, Indonesia now continues the theme into Visit Indonesia Year 2010, focusing on the archipelago’s many museums.

In Jakarta, the National Museum has one of the one of the most complete archeological collections in South East Asia, while the Jakarta Museum exhibits 17th. century Dutch colonial furniture. In Solo the Danar Hadi Museum displays the best of Indonesian batik. With Visit Indonesia 2010 focus on Museums, it is expected that the general public and international tourists will pay increased interest to Indonesian Heritage.

UNESCO has officially declared Indonesian Batik, the Wayang shadow puppet, and the Keris dagger as Indonesia’s legacy towards World Heritage.

With increased visitors to Indonesia, the Regions are also enthusiastically embarking on their own promotions. This year will be Visit Batam, Visit South Sumatra, Visit Manado and Visit Bangka-Belitung 2010 Year. This will be followed by Visit Central Java, Visit Makassar and Visit Riau 2011 Year, and the Visit West Nusa Tenggara 2012 Year.

As Indonesia shows positive economic growth and improved stable social environment, while the world is recovering from the global economic crisis, Indonesia looks with confidence to much brighter tourism developments in 2010 and beyond.