Indonesia, Australia to Boost Tourism by Adding New Flight, Cruise Routes
Jakarta. The Indonesian and Australian governments plan to boost tourism between the two countries by encouraging airlines and cruise liners to add new routes and increase the quantity of existing routes.
The plan came after a meeting between the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi and Australia's Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Local Government and Territories Fiona Nash in Jakarta on Thursday (09/03).
In the meeting, Nash highlighted the Australian government's interest in scheduling new round-trip flight routes to and from its external territory, Christmas Island, and also hopes to further promote Brisbane.
At present, Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia's flag carrier, and AirAsia Indonesia, a local unit of Malaysia-based low-cost carrier AirAsia, offers flights to and from Jakarta and Denpasar to major Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
The flights are part of the airlines' effort to accommodate a growing market and increase traffic between Indonesia and Australia.
In 2016, Garuda Indonesia served 17 percent more flights between Indonesia and Australia than in 2015.
Qantas, Australia's national carrier, Jetstar Airways, Australian low-cost airline and subsidiary of Qantas andVirgin Australia, Australia's second-largest airline, offer flights to and from Denpasar."We also hope to encourage cruise liners to create routes from parts of Australia to Lombok," Budi Karya said, adding that he hopes Lombok will become an international tourist hotspot.
The government has also prioritized the development of the Mandalika resort on the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, as part of its strategy to create 10 new tourist centers and attract 20 million foreign tourists to the country by 2019.
Indonesia is Australia’s 12th largest market for international tourist arrival, with around 175,000 Indonesians traveling to the Australia in 2016.
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