REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SHANGHAI -- The number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia so far this year rose 20 percent from a year earlier, Chief of the China National Tourism Administration Li Jinzao said. "At the turn of 2016, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia reached more than one million," he said on the sidelines of China International Travel Mart (CITM) held in Shanghai from November 11 to 13.

Over the same period, the number of Indonesian tourists visiting China increased 16 percent, Li Jinzao said. "This suggests that tourism cooperation between the two countries has been running well," he said.

He expressed the hope that the existing good cooperation in the tourism field could be stepped up in the future.

Earlier, Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said China is currently the biggest source of tourist arrivals in Indonesia, overtaking Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and Korea,". "We have set ourselves the target of attracting 20 million tourists in 2019 and nearly 50 percent of them will come from China," he disclosed. In this regard, he underscored the importance of stepping up tourism cooperation with China to achieve the target.

In addition, he pointed out that his ministry will also focus on promoting the "Great China" branding which covers China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

He also invited Chinese investors to invest in the Indonesian tourism industry. "We invite Chinese investors engaged in the tourism sector to invest in Indonesia which offers natural and cultural attractions. Now is the time to make long-term investments in the tourism sector," he observed.

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