INDONESIA has called on airlines flying from Australia to spread their wings beyond the usual destinations.
Speaking to the media following a meeting in Jakarta with Australian Minister for Tourism Martin Ferguson, Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik said: “We are encouraging airlines to use Lombok International Airport, which is to open in October as a new hub to other parts of Indonesia.”
With air passenger capacity between the two countries having been increased in June (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27), Wacik said there were opportunities to promote beyond Bali and Jakarta.
“We are not only promoting Lombok as a destination, but also as a hub to the West and East Nusa Tenggaran and even to Kalimantan and Sulawesi,” he said.
There were 769,000 Australian arrivals to Indonesia in 2010, a number which is expected to rise to 800,000 this year. There were 398,000 Australian arrivals to Indonesia in the first six months leading up to July.
