CHENNAI: Encouraged with increasing footfalls from India, particularly Chennai and other southern parts of the country, Indonesia is keen on improving the bilateral ties with India. Things are likely to be taken forward when Indonesian President Joko Widodo attends the Asean-India business summit in Delhi in January. He will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the transcontinental country located in the Southeast Asia. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and is naturally endowed with nature’s bounty. “Tourism is one of the sectors the government is looking at to further develop and we do hope that during our President’s visit next month, he will invite Mr. Modi to visit Indonesia,” says Sanjay Sondhi, Country Manager, VITO – India.
To a question on which particular issue is likely to be discussed by the heads of the two countries, he replied, “there are many issues including increasing the business volumes between both the countries… we are for stronger bilateral ties because of the strong cultural connect between India and Indonesia.” 2017 was a good year, registering a growth of 25 per cent and South India or Chennai emerged as the third biggest market for Indonesia after New Delhi and Mumbai. About 20 per cent of its visitors are from South India. Though Indonesia had set a target to welcome 4,56,000 Indian tourists, till October this year, the country had received 3,96,000 Indian visitors and it is confident of achieving the mark, claims Mr. Sanjay.
The country suffered a setback due to sudden cancellations owing to volcanic eruption at Mount Agung. “Tourism has picked up…We say destination Indonesia is affordable luxury. Everybody can come and experience the different lifestyles, culture and heritage of Indonesia,” Mr. Sanjay who was in the city told this correspondent on Friday. Over 37,000 Indonesians had visited India this year. Direct flight to enhance tourism prospects: Indonesia as wedding destination and MICE tourism spot is picking up. Though there are no direct flights at present, many airlines fly into different regions of Indonesia like Bali, Jakarta, etc. “From March 2018, we hope to see more movement for weddings into Indonesia, especially when Garuda Airline launches direct service linking Bali and Mumbai… We are fully equipped to handle Indian weddings in Indonesia,” Mr. Sanjay Sondhi added. China, Singapore, Malaysia and India are the primary source markets in Asia for Indonesia and globally India is ranked sixth.
