news/TOURISM
S’pore, Indonesia hope to attract more Chinese tourists by joint promotion
Posted 15 August 2005 @ 07:04
SINGAPORE, 15 August 2005 - Singapore and Indonesia have joined hands in launching the first ever tourist promotion scheme in China in a bid to attract more Chinese tourists. According to the scheme, Chinese tourists will be able to appreciate the beautiful scenery in Singapore and Indonesia, such as the Sentosa island in Singapore and Bali island in Indonesia.
China has become the second largest source of tourists for Singapore. The scheme will provide more convenient and cheap tour for Chinese tourists in the future, said Cai Yongxing, regional director of the Singapore Tourism Board in China.
The number of Chinese tourists to Indonesia is still small, with only 80,000 arrivals last year. In order to attract more Chinese visitors, Indonesia will issue arrival visas for Chinese tourists and reduce visa fees, said Danto Ntoma, minister of Indonesian embassy in China.
As a national carrier, Garuda launched its first flight to Chinese mainland in 2002 and opened the air route to Beijing last year. Currently the company operates three weekly flights from Beijing to Jakarta via Singapore, said Pikri Ilhamk, general manager of Garuda Indonesia in China.