Indonesia Records Steady Growth in Cruise Ship Arrivals, Aims for More
October 20, 2012
Denpasar. Due to a reported increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country via cruise liners over the past five years, Indonesia is set to develop relevant infrastructure to accommodate more ships.
An official with the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, Rizky Handayani, said on Saturday in Kuta, Bali that 21,616 foreign tourists arrived in Indonesia on board cruise ships in 2008 — the figure tripled to 68,566 in 2009 and further increased to 94,166 in 2010, 112,882 in 2011 and 114,000 in the first half of 2012 alone.
“We’ve estimated the figure to increase to 160,000 in 2013,” he said.
Meanwhile, he added the number of cruise ships docking in Indonesia increased from 36 units in 2008 to 135 units in 2009, 189 units in 2010, 176 units in 2011 and 214 units in the first half of 2012.
“Up to 300 cruise liners are expected to arrive in 2013. They will dock at a number of cruise ship ports that have met the international standards,” Rizky said.
He noted that the Indonesian government continued to develop facilities at several sea ports, including at Benoa Port in Denpasar, Belawan Port in Medan, Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang and Kumai Port in Central Kalimantan.
The government, Rizky said, also developed new ports on Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara and on Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara, as well as in in the East Java town of Probolinggo, all of which are expected to be able to accommodate cruise ships.
Indonesia has aims to attract 8 million international visitors this year and 9 million next year.
Antara
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