The Tourism Ministry of Indonesia aims 2.6 million tourists from Malaysia this year. This number revised upward from 1.4 million for a one-year period.
This target is changed because, in the January-June 2018 period, the goal already achieved.
"In the January-June 2018 period, 1.4 million Malaysians visited Indonesia. Hopefully, the number will increase to 2,670,000 at the end of this year," deputy assistant of marketing development at the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, Sumarni said on the sidelines of Malaysia Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair on Sunday as quoted from ANTARA.
MATTA Fair is an annual event; she said adding MATTA Fair this time is the biggest ever held.
"The Tourism Ministry brings 30 travel agents and ten accommodations to sell Indonesian (tourism) packages and establish a partnership with Malaysian agents," she said.
Through this forum, more and more Malaysian tourists are expected to buy tourism packages from Indonesia, she said.
"This time we bring themes related to Borobudur Temple and Lake Toba. Today Malindo Air has served direct flight from Subang to Silangit so more and more Malaysian tourists will hopefully visit Lake Toba," she said.
Through the MATTA Fair, Malaysians will hopefully be informed of the direct flight from Subang to Silangit.
Malaysia ranked third after China and Singapore regarding foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia last year, she said.
"Hopefully, Malaysia will rank first in 2018," she said.
West Java, Yogyakarta and Jakarta are favourite tourist destinations for Malaysian tourists.
"Lombok Island is also a favourite tourist destination for Malaysian tourists. But because of the recent earthquakes, their number has declined accordingly," she said.
Source: en.tempo.co