REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has expressed optimism that the number of foreign tourists expected to visit Indonesia in 2015 will reach 12 million.

The government has increased its target of foreign tourist arrivals from 10 million to 12 million following a plan to significantly intensify tourism promotion activities, the minister stated here on Thursday.

Arief Yahya made the statement after attending a meeting to discuss tourism affairs, which was chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and attended by Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly.

"The vice president is optimistic that the new target is achievable, given the fact that the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia also increased in 2014. So, we believe that the target is achievable," the minister remarked.

During January-November 2014, an average of 775 thousand foreign tourists visited Indonesia every month. In December 2014, the country received 915 thousand foreign tourists.

Most of the tourists visiting Indonesia in 2014 came from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, and Japan. The minister, however, forecast that the composition would change to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan in 2015.

The government has planned to intensify promotion activities by placing advertisements in international media such as CNN and Discovery Channel.

For that purpose, the government plans a four-fold increase in tourism promotion budget, from Rp300 billion to Rp1.2 trillion this year.

"The promotion cost is relatively small as compared to Rp3.6 trillion spent by Malaysia, for instance," he noted.

The minister added that the government would also improve and build several infrastructure facilities to support the tourism industry, particularly in maritime tourism destinations.

"Some 70 percent of the world's coral reef triangle area is in Indonesia, but the contribution of maritime tourism is only 10 percent of the total tourist destinations in Indonesia," he pointed out.

Regarding political stability, he stated that political situation in Thailand is not better than that in Indonesia, but Thailand managed to earn US$40 billion from the tourism industry as compared to US$10 billion earned by Indonesia.

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