John Victor D. Von Ordonez, journalist
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The provincial government in Jakarta is hoping to attract more Filipino tourists this year as the tourism sector recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
"We're trying to attract more Filipinos to Jakarta because we see the potential of the Philippine market," Hari Wibowo, director of marketing and attractions at the provincial government's Office of Creative Industries and Tourism, told Business World last week.
"The easing of health restrictions and the reopening of our businesses make us optimistic that Jakarta's tourism sector will improve this year."
Indonesia's economy is expected to grow 5.31% in 2022, the best annual growth rate since 2013. It was fueled by strong household consumption after the government lifted most of the pandemic-related restrictions. All remaining pandemic restrictions were lifted in December as the number of 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) infections dropped.
Creator. Wibo also said it plans to invite more travel agents from the Philippines to tourism events in Indonesia's capital and largest city, Jakarta.
"Jakarta is both a business and leisure destination and we consider it a great urban destination," he said. "This is the place to do business."
He described Jakarta as the central business hub of Indonesia, with plans to expand direct flights across Southeast Asia with various airlines.
Jakarta is home to historical attractions such as Old Batavia, which houses original 17th- century Dutch buildings, some of which have been converted into museums and cafes.
It features large modern multi-purpose facilities such as Grand Indonesia and PT Sarina State Department Store, the city's first tall building.
Jakarta also boasts the largest retractable-roof stadium complex in Asia, including the 82,000-seat Jakarta International Stadium.
The city is also home to Kepuluan Seribu, which translates to "Thousand Islands," a chain of some 342 islands and beaches stretching 45 kilometers into the Java Sea.
More direct flights
Creator. Wibo also said the government is working on more direct flights between the Philippines and Jakarta to boost tourism.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) currently operates 10 weekly non-stop flights between Manila and Jakarta, PAL spokesman Cielo C. Villaluna said in a Viber message.
Last year, Jakarta saw 14,890 visitor arrivals from the Philippines, up from 2,540 in 2021, according to the Jakarta provincial government.
However, this is still a far cry from the 57,593 Filipinos who traveled to Jakarta in 2018 and 45,521 in 2019.
The Philippines had the third-largest number of foreign visitors to Jakarta before the 2019 pandemic, Mr. Wibo also said.
"Hopefully, with more cooperation projects between our two countries this year, we expect more Filipino tourists to come to Jakarta," he said.
Indonesia is targeting 3.5-7.4 million foreign tourists this year.
Indonesia attracted 5.47 million foreign visitors last year, triple the year-ago figure. However, this is still below the 16.1 million visitors in 2019.
