Jakarta attacks' impact to tourism is limited: Indonesian minister

Indonesia is a safe state and the negative impact of Thursday's terrorist attacks in downtown Jakarta to tourism industry is limited, Indonesian tourism minister said on Friday.

The Islamic State-linked attacks, which involved deadly bombings and gun blasts, left seven people dead, including one foreigner, and 24 others injured.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Minister Arief Yahya said that there have been no cancellations for hotel reservation and travel bookings so far in Jakarta and other big cities in the country.

Arief stressed that the attacks only happened in a small part in Jakarta and the situation is fully under control.

"The vast Jakarta and Indonesia at large are safe and comfort for foreigners," though the terrorist attacks in Jakarta could mean a dip in foreign tourist arrivals at the start of the year, he said.

The Indonesian capital city is not the main entry gate for overseas visitors who prefer Yogyakarta in Central Java and Bali to other tourism destinations in archipelago.

Indonesia has set an ambitious target to attract 12 million foreign tourists in 2016.

The country is now main relying on the sustainable growth of Chinese visitors, Arief said, adding that the Indonesian tourism ministry is expecting more direct and charter flights during the Chinese New Year holiday in the coming weeks.

The ministry will hold calligraphy and lantern-fly competitions and other Chinese New Year-related events in some cities to attract more Chinese visitors, he said.

Official data show that China is Indonesia's third largest source of foreign tourists after Singapore and Malaysia with around 1.3 million arrivals a year.

The tourism ministry expects the figure to become 2 million this year. Enditem