‘Direct flights important to connect Pak, Indonesia’

ISLAMABAD: Indonesian Deputy Minister for Tourism and Economic Creativity, Ni Made Ayu Marthini on Saturday said that direct air flights were very important to promote bilateral tourism in Indonesia and Pakistan.

Talking to APP, she said in terms of the population of Indonesia and Pakistan, the market consisting of 500 million people could open new ways of cooperation in all economic sectors including tourism and trade in both countries.

“There is a need to understand the mutual markets and different economic sectors in both countries, which can open new avenues for mutual economic cooperation,” she said. “The government is following a regular plan to promote tourism in Indonesia, in which major changes are brought in the tourism sector by implementing short, medium and long-term projects.”

She said that Bali was an important place in Indonesia for tourism, but there were many beautiful places like this in Indonesia where the Indonesian government was committed to providing modern facilities in the tourism sector.

Marthini said the Indonesian government was working on a two-prong strategy to promote tourism for domestic travelers, and apart from this, “our government is working to provide modern facilities to foreign tourists”.

Indonesia offers many impressive places that could be attractive for Pakistani tourists. “Our basic culture has a very important place in Indonesia’s modern economic development and economic reforms, and modern tools will be used to improve this culture.”

Innovation in the tourism sector could help the country achieve economic stability, sustainability and inclusivity. “Bali is a big name in world tourism, and the Indonesian government is continuing to work to equip 10 new tourist places with modern facilities,” she said, adding that 5 of these destinations were declared a priority by the government.