REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- Foreign tourist arrivals in Batam, Riau Islands province, increased by 22 percent in February 2015 as compared to the same month in the previous year, a local tourism official said.

"The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Batam significantly increased by 22 percent. Over 150 thousand foreign tourists visited Batam last February," Chief of Tourism and Cultural Office in Batam Yusfa Hendri said here on Tuesday.

He noted the increase in the number of foreign tourists in February was thanks to a larger number of holidays in that month, including the Chinese New year and its Cap Go Meh celebrations 15 days later.

During the holidays, many Singaporean and Malaysian citizens visited Batam, some for celebrating the Chinese New Year and some for just holidaying.

Apart from that, the government also inaugurated a new tourism destination: the Admiral Cheng Ho Shipping lanes in the Golden City Batam.

The inauguration attracted a good number of Chinese citizens from Singapore.

"There was also the Regatta Shipping, which also attracted many foreign tourists," Hendri added.

During January-February 2015, the arrivals of foreign tourists in Batam increased by 8.14 percent from that during the same period in 2014.

"The number of foreign visitors to Batam during the two months was 230,120," he remarked.

The Central Government has set a target to receive two million foreign tourists in Batam in 2015. The local government has set a moderate target of 1,413,672 foreign tourist arrivals for 2015.

Its optimistic target is to receive 1,696,406 foreign tourists.

Meanwhile, the government has taken a huge step to boost the tourism sector by offering the visa-free facility for tourists from over 30 countries.

With the new policy, tourists from 45 countries enjoy the visa-free facility.

Before announcing the new facility, Indonesia already had a visa-free arrival policy for tourists from 15 countries.

Tourism industrialists in the country are enthusiastic that tourism will thrive with the new policy.

The National Federation of Tourism Industries (GIPI) is looking forward to welcoming an influx of foreign visitors after the introduction of the visa-free facility.

According to GIPI general chairman Didien Junaedy, the federation will improve the quality of services and human resources in the tourism sector.

"We will need to improve our quality as there will be a significant increase in the number of visitors to the country," Didien added.

Preparations have to be made in other sectors such as transport and security, he observed.

"As for tourist destinations, we need to develop more areas outside Bali," he pointed out.

Didien observed that the visa-free policy is a strategy to achieve the target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists to the country by 2019, which will be the end of the term of the present government.

"In a number of countries, the visa-free facility is open for tourists from more than 100 countries," he stated.

Didien emphasized that the possible loss caused by the visa-free policy will more than offset the tourism related earnings of various sectors.

"Though not direct, its effects can show in various sectors such as the transport sector, trade, and creative industry, especially the souvenir industry," he added.

Agus Edi Susilo, an expert staff of the transport minister, has predicted that Indonesian airline companies will register a 15-percent increase in passenger traffic in 2015 as against the growth of just 5 percent recorded in 2014.

"That is our hope amid the economic slowdown," Agus added.

He remarked the transport ministry will improve its facilities, especially the air transport facilities in ports. Passenger terminals will be expanded to offer greater convenience for passengers.

"We will coordinate with immigration offices and other related institutions," he pointed out.

The transport ministry will also coordinate with the army, navy, and air force to tighten security in airports in anticipation of a surge in the number of visitors as a result of the visa-free policy, he revealed.

The visa-free policy is open for citizens from 45 countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico of the Asia-Pacific region; Russia, Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman of Middle East, and South Africa.

A number of regions such as East Nusa Tenggara are expected to gain from the policy by boosting their tourism industry as a leading sector to enhance their economic development.

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