REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi strives to promote tourism destinations to the Indian public, outside the famous Bali island. Indonesian Ambassador to India Sidharto R Suryodipuro stated that Bali had become a highly sought after destination for Indian tourists.

Bali had successfully attracted 485 thousand visitors from India for the year of 2017, which is a 28.8 percent increase compared to the year prior.

"However, there are still a lot of Indians who have yet to discover places such as the Borobudur and Prambanan temple, which had been dubbed as the tallest Hindu temple in the world by 'Taman Wisata Candi'," he stated in an interview with Antara in Jakarta, Tuesday.

For that reason, the Ambassador then invited the Indian public to come down to Indonesia and prove the branding of the destination themselves.

He also promoted destinations in the island of Sumatra, which is geographically closer to Indonesia. However, despite all the efforts to further promote Indonesia's diverse destinations to India, air connectivity still come as a challenge.

At the moment, there are 28 direct flights operating every week, connecting Indonesia and India, however, the number would still need to be escalated, as there are still Indian tourists who would have to go through layovers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in order to reach their destination in Indonesia.

"The challenge is to provide them with flights that could take them directly to Indonesia, with a better connectivity scheme. The plans are currently being discussed by both countries," he continued.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is currently working to promote other tourism destinations across the country, trying to duplicate the tourism success achieved by Bali, which has earned its place in the world top destinations.

Also read: India supports Bali tourism recovery

Through the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia is working to develop 10 new destinations located across the country, which include Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika on Lombok Island (West Nusa Tenggara), Labuan Bajo in Flores (East Nusa Tenggara), Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java, Pulau Seribu in North Jakarta, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Morotai in the northern region of Halmahera in the Maluku islands and Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung (Bangka Belitung).

The government has focused on developing and promoting the 10 new destinations, particularly through the "Wonderful Indonesia" promotion, to improve its tourism competitiveness globally, Tourism and Culture Minister Arief Yahya confirmed.

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