The Indonesian government plans to boost promotion of the nation's tourism abroad so as to lure more tourists, notably from China, India and the Middle East, Minister for Cultural and Tourism Affairs Jero Wacik has said.

Jero said the government has set aside a budget of 180 billion rupiah (US$20 million) for promotional purposes next year, or double the amount allocated for 2004, reflecting its awareness of the importance of promotion.

"We want foreign tourists visiting our country to reach 10 million by 2009, which our estimates show could generate some 100 trillion rupiah (US$11.1 billion) in total income," Jero was quoted Monday by The Jakarta Post newspaper as saying.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), foreign tourist arrivals as of October had reached to 3.8 million, higher than the full-year overseas tourists of 3.69 million in 2003, an early indication of the sector's continued recovery from the slump following the 2002 bombing in Bali.

On average, some 5.5 million foreign tourists per year visited the country before the bombing, generating about US$6 billion in foreign exchange incomes.

With the sector slowly improving, Jero said, the country is seeking to promote tourism to new -- but largely untapped -- potential markets such as China, India and the Middle East.

To date, visitors from Japan, Australia and Europe have been the largest source of foreign tourists for Indonesia.

"China, for instance, sends some 20 million tourists across the world every year, but only some 80,000 of them -- or a tiny fraction of them -- come to Indonesia," Jero said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2004)