More European tourists expected to come into Indonesia

The opening of direct flight route from Indonesia to Europe recently following the lifting of travel ban on some of Indonesian airliners by the European Union is expected to boost the number of European tourist coming into Indonesia.

Over one million foreign tourists from the territory are expected to come into Indonesia this year, higher than the original target of 700,000, Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik has said recently.

Indonesian leading carrier of PT Garuda Indonesia has restarted inaugural flight to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on June 1 after the removal of flight ban in July of 2009.

"So with the new line, I believe that the arrival rate will rise," Wacik said.

According to him the direct route would attract people interested in visiting Indonesia.

"If there was no direct line to Indonesia, people are reluctant to visit our country because they prefer to travel to other countries which have direct flight," he said.

The Indonesian government has increased the target of revenue from tourism sector this year to 7 billion U.S. dollars from the original target of 6.5 billion U.S. dollars, and promoted Indonesia in some countries.

The improved economy of the world has led to increased spending per tourist.

Garuda Indonesia has targeted to open more new routes in Europe, including to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome, President Director of the company Emirsyah Satar has said, which may attract more tourists coming into Indonesia.