The Indonesian Tours and Travel Association (ASITA) has expressed its pessimism that Indonesia’s target of receiving 7 million international arrivals this year would be met, local media reported.
By ASITA’s projection, by the end of this year the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia would only reach around 5.5 million or as many as last year, said Antara news agency.
Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Jero Wacik at the end of 2007 set the target of foreign tourists arrivals in 2008 at the minimum of 7 million.
However until October this year only 5.1 million of foreign tourists were recorded to have visited the country.
ASITA General Chairman Ben Sukma said the agency’s forecast was vased on a variety of factors particularly the current global economic crisis.