Sky-High Promotion of Indonesian Tourism

(2/23/2009)

Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, is asking the country's airlines to promote domestic tourism through films shown to in-flight passengers.

Bisnis.com reports that Wacik thinks the captive audiences flying at 30,000 feet are ideal subjects to whom information on Indonesia's many tourism objects and unique destinations can be shared. According to Wacik: "We often see entertainment programs, such as Mr. Bean or comedy, on our national airlines. When, in fact, foreign airlines are more likely to expose their tourism objects (via in-flight films)."

Indonesia's Minister in charge of tourism also observed that while some pilots will share information about cities they are flying over or flying to, this practice is not widespread among all Indonesian air carriers. Wacik believes that tourism information videos and informative announcements from pilots and crew would assist greatly in educating the public about the many attractions to be found in the Indonesian archipelago.

The Indonesian government is targeting 6.5 million foreign tourists to visit the country in 2009, an increase over the approximate 6.4 million who came calling in 2008.