Indonesia expects 12 mln foreign tourist arrivals in 2016

A senior official said here Wednesday that the Indonesian government expected the country would receive 12 million foreign holiday makers in 2016.

Tourism revenue on this basis would reach 172 trillion rupiah (some 12.469 billion U.S. dollars), said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

For this year, Minister Arief projected that the number of foreign holiday makers coming into the country would grow by 5.81 percent to 10.017 million.

"The figure exceeds the target of this year's foreign tourist arrivals. Our work performance in developing tourism has been on track so the target is achieved," the minister said.

Indonesia set the target of foreign tourist arrivals at 10 million for 2015.

The minister projected that foreign holiday makers could contribute 11.9 billion U.S. dollars to the country's tourism earnings this year.

To reach the target for next year, the minister said that the government would step up promotion overseas.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Fishery Rizal Ramli said Indonesia would grant visa-free access to tourists from 84 countries next year, compared from the current 45 countries.

According to the minister, 20 million foreign holiday makers are expected to visit the country in 2020. Enditem