Indonesia Famous Next Destination: awarded by China Travel and Leisure

The manifold wonders of the Indonesian Archipelago never cease to amaze tourists and travelers from all across the globe.

Recently, the spellbinding beauty of the archipelago received yet another international acknowledgment when China based printed and digital magazine, China Travel and Leisure named Indonesia as The Famous Next Travel Destination. The award was received by Indonesia's Tourism Ministry's Secretary General, Ukus Kuswara and Deputy Assistant for Marketing development for the Asia Pacific region, Vincensius Jemadu, at the 10th Anniversary China Travel and Leisure Award event held on Tuesday 15 November in Shanghai,China.

“Thank you China Travel and Leisure. The award is very meaningful as it was given by the Chinese media which is  increasingly aware of the potentials of new destinations or next destinations. The award gives us more confidence to welcome more visitors from China,” said Ukus Kuswara.

Other countries who received the award were Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, and Egypt.

For Indonesia, the award is very significant since China is one of the main tourist markets for the country. Up to September 2016, the number of tourists from China has surpassed 1 million  reaching the top spot in international tourist arrivals to Indonesia, outranking those arriving from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, and South Korea which have so far dominated Indonesia's foreign visitors figures. In 2016 Indonesia targets arrivals from China to exceed 1.5 million visitors.  The award was based on the tremendous increase in Chinese visitors to Indonesia throughout this year that has taken over the domination of visitors from other countries, according to Ukus Kuswara. In addition, the well-orchestrated efforts conducted by the Indonesian government to transform the tourism sector was also highly appreciated by the Chinese media. Among these are the simplification of regulations for cruise ships and yachts to enter into the nation's waters,and increasing the number of countries given free visa facility to 169 and digitalizing the management of the tourism sector.