VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Phinisi boats at Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara on January 22, 2020. (ANTARA PHOTO/Kornelis Kaha/uyu) - 

State-owned tourism and aviation holding InJourney will focus on developing domestic tourism potential considering that international travel is still restricted, marketing director of the holding, Maya Watono, has said.

"I think it will be difficult to fully boost foreign tourists in this pandemic situation," she observed at a virtual press conference on Friday.

More than 80 percent of visitors at Indonesian tourism destinations are domestic tourists, while the remaining are international travelers, she added.

Hence, the company will focus on attracting 330 million visits of domestic tourists, she said. Meanwhile, the number of targeted foreign tourists is only 17 million, she added.

To achieve the domestic tourism target, the holding will also synergize inter-domestic flights so they can be better connected, Watono said.

Furthermore, the development of domestic tourism potential is one of the strategies for reviving the sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, Watono said.

Domestic tourism recovery faces great challenges, especially regarding connectivity and logistics between the five super-priority destinations (DPSPs), she noted.

The DPSPs comprise Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Borobudur Temple (Central Java), Mandalika (West Nusa Tenggara), Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenggara), and Manado-Likupang (North Sulawesi).

“We will strive to recover the sector – at least to give a jump start, which can bounce Indonesia’s tourism to its prior condition before the pandemic,” Watono remarked.

The infrastructure and feasibility at a number of destinations, Labuan Bajo for instance, still need to be improved to attract more domestic tourists, she said.

"Labuan Bajo must be developed further since there has not been any dedicated entertainment site. Looking at Bali, it is full of entertainment sites, right? However, there are less similar sites in Labuan Bajo,” she added.

The tourism holding -- which is also known as PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero) -- was launched by President Joko Widodo at Kuta Mandalika Beach, Central Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara province, on January 13, 2022//ANT