INDIAN STARS GET ‘DEARER’
But for resources crunch, Indonesian Tourism would have signed either of the two Bollywood stars Sharukh Khan or Big 'B' Amitabh Bachchan as its Brand Ambassador to promote Indonesia among Indians.
"We have been trying to approach Bolloywood stars like Sharukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan from time to time to be our brand ambassador... Sorry to say Bollywood stars are too expensive for us," Director General of Tourism Marketing of Indonesia Sapta Nirwandar told AABC during his recent visit to India.
However, Nirwandar expressed happiness over the steady increase in the flow of Indian tourists to Indonesia. "No doubt we have to do a lot more to promote whole of Indonesia to Indian visitors. But we are happy that our efforts are bearing fruit. There were 1,40,000 Indian visitors to Indonesia in 2010 and this year we have already received 1,60,000 visitors from India," he said. Nirwandar was optimistic about spurt in Indian visitors to Indonesia with steady increase in the GDP growth rate translating growing affluence among Indians. In this context, he also expressed happiness over the agreement being signed for a direct daily flight of Jet Airways to Indonesia from India from November onwards.
"It is going to be a very good development. Direct flight to Indonesia would mean cheaper airfare for travellers from India. I am sure this will translate into more tourists flow from India," he said.
Presently, Indian travellers have to take flight via Malaysia or Singapore to go to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Otto Riadi, Counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi informed AABC that the official carrier of Indonesia Garuda is expected to launch direct flights to major Indian cities early next year after the new fleets of airbus were delivered to it.
Indonesia has identified 10 top tourist stops under its "beyond Bali" campaign to woo Indian tourists. "Bali is the most favoured destination. But Indonesia has a plenty for revellers and travellers. We have adopted a 'target group' approach to popularise other hot spots along with Bali," Nirwandar said.
S Satyanarayanan
Associate Editor, AABC
