WTM London 2019: Indonesian president Joko Widodo selects ‘super-priority destinations’
Tom ParryIndonesia is aiming to promote five “super-priority destinations” to delegates during WTM London this year in a bid to reach its target of 20 million international tourists in 2019.
The locations – selected by president Joko Widodo – have been chosen to encourage visitors to explore more of the archipelago’s natural beauty, arts and crafts, music offerings and gastronomic specialisms, and to look at options beyond its popular tourism resort of Bali.
Lake Toba, Borobudur, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo and Likupang have each been selected for promotion.
The country’s Ministry of Tourism said the sites would receive investment to aid their accessibility to foreign visitors – with tourists from Europe, China and India highlighted as key markets.
The strategy is a development of Indonesia’s “10 New Bali” initiative operated between 2015-2018, taking five destinations from that list to be focused on further this year.
Priority destinations, tourism officials said, had been chosen on their strengths, with the infrastructure at Lake Toba, for example, being boosted with the presence of Silangit airport.
In a similar vein, Borobudur has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site, while Mandalika and Likupang have been assigned as special economy zones.
President Widodo has also recently announced Labuan Bajo as a “premium destination”.
The locations will look to implement sustainable tourism practices, such as the economic empowerment of local communities and a focus on cultural preservation.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism said it expected all of the country’s national budget to be allocated to the five destinations to boost their infrastructure, amenities, marketing and other “substantial aspects”.
Ibu Nia, deputy minister for international marketing for the Ministry of Tourism, said: “We believe the development of the five super-priority destinations will greatly contribute to Indonesia’s tourism in terms of increasing tourist arrival numbers and enabling more competitive and sustainable tourism.”
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