Bali's 3.5 Million Tourist Target Reasonable

Denpasar, Bali, Aug 30 (Antara) - Tourism industry observer Tjok Gede Agung considered the target of 3.5 million tourists expected to visit Bali in 2015 as reasonable. "Bali Island is still a major tourist destination for foreigners holidaying in Indonesia," he said here on Saturday. During the first seven months of 2014, about two million tourists had visited Bali, and therefore, the 3.5 million tourist target is a rational estimation, according to him. An average of 290 thousand foreign tourists visit Bali every month. By December 2014, 3.539 million foreigners will have visited Bali, he said. The number of foreign tourists visiting Bali has tended to increase lately, following political conflicts in Thailand. Australia is the largest supplier of tourists to Bali, with 541,011 people, followed by China (330,172) and Malaysia (125,173). Meanwhile, tourism and creative economy exhibition titled "Indonesia Tourism & Creative Economy Fair (ITCEF)," which is being held in Jakarta Convention Center on August 29-31, 2014, is set to earn Rp20 billion or about US$1,708 million. "We have set a transaction target of amount ranging from Rp18 to Rp20 billion," said chairperson of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board S.B. Wiryanti Sukamdani in Jakarta recently. The event is expected to attract at least 50,000 visitors, she said, explaining that as many as 160 participants join the exhibit. "We have also invited foreign exhibitors representing Paraguay, South Korea, Japan, the Middle East, and Australia," she added.