REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- With its great natural beauty, which is unparalleled in the world and its unique and extensive geographic location, Indonesia is capable of dominating the Asia-Pacific tourism sector, according the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Chairman E.E. Mangindaan.
"Indonesia has been able to win the competition in the Asia-Pacific tourism sector because the country has great tourism potential and is geographically located on the edge of the Asia Pacific region," Mangindaan remarked in a written statement received here on Thursday.
According to him, to dominate tourism in Asia-Pacific, one has to understand the common thread of tourism in the region, which is the axis of Taipei (Taiwan) -Manado-Bali-Perth (Australia).
When serving as the governor of North Sulawesi and later as a cabinet minister during the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mangindaan had built tourism infrastructure in North Sulawesi, such as the international port of Bitung and the Sam Ratulangi International Airport.
"At that time there was an objection from another region, but I explained to the president at the time that North Sulawesi is strategically located in the Pacific region and has outstanding tourism attractions," he noted.
The government then built an international port of Bitung, with funds of around Rp1 trillion and expanded the runway of the Sam Ratulangi Airport into international aerodrome.
Earlier, the Vice President's Expert Team's Chairman Sofjan Wanandi said all parties should be able to introduce Indonesia as shopping destination in order to increase the level of consumption to drive the nation's economy.
"We should know how to create shopping and tourism potential in Indonesia," Wanandi said at an event held to mark the declaration of the Indonesian Shopping Center Tenants Association (Hippindo) here on Wednesday.
He explained that the current global economic conditions are weakening and this also affects the economic situation in the country.
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