REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- The governor of Indonesian Province of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika, on Monday promoted tourism and arts of the Paradise Island to the visiting members of Indian parliament.
Pastika explained to the Indian Parliamentarians, led by Ravi Prakash Verma from the upper house of Parliament called Rajya Sabha, the various international events held successfully on the island.
In recent years, Bali has successfully hosted several international events including the Bali Democracy Forum, a ministerial meeting in the field of energy and economy, as also the APEC summit meeting, according to Pastika.
"Bali even hosted a Miss World program. This proved that Bali is increasingly a force to reckon with in the international arena," Pastika pointed out.
The governor further said Bali, as a small island in Indonesia, has been variously known by many popular names, such as The Island of Gods, The Island of Paradise, The Island of Love and The Island of Tolerance.
According to him, Bali has become a role model in terms of tolerance and religious harmony.
Meanwhile, Indian MP Verma highly appreciated the greetings offered by the Bali Governor and its people.
Although small, Bali boasts of many different kinds of natural beauty and traditions, besides being known for the hospitality that its community offers.
"I believe this is key to the development of tourism in Bali. No wonder it remains the world's favorite tourist destination," he said.
In addition, Verma also appreciated the steps taken by the provincial government to maintain security and stability.
Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) 2016 is expected to lure more tour operators, thanks to the visa-free facility offered by Indonesia to 169 countries.
"The visa-free facility will cut short (the administrative) process for operators to attend the BBTF. The opportunity is very big," BBTF organizing committee's chairman, Ketut Ardana, stated here last Tuesday.
Most tour operators are busy people, and the visa-free facility will be helpful, he pointed out.
Bali's businessmen from the tourism sector lauded the visa-free facility granted to 169 countries and hoped it would help increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals to 20 million by 2019.
The government has made a breakthrough by offering visa-free facility to countries from where large number of tourists come to Indonesia, he stated.
President Joko Widodo signed the Presidential Regulation No. 21 of 2016 on Visit Visa-Free Facility in March 2016.
The visa-free facility can be availed of by tourists arriving in Indonesia through certain airports, including the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali.
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