During the past three years the number of overseas visitors to Indonesia arriving by cruise ships tripled and the country is seeking to boost its cruise ship tourism market. The goal for 2019 is set to at least 430,000 foreign cruise ship travellers, almost a 20% increase compared to the last year's figures. The target for Indonesian port calls in 2019 is 667.
Currently, the potential market for foreign cruise travellers from East Asia is estimated as 2 million people per year; the number of travellers from Australia and New Zealand who opt for cruise ships reaches 1.3 million people per year. During the recent Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) Cruise360 Australasia cruise conference cruise ship operators expressed eager interest in raising the number of calls to Indinesian ports.
Indonesia that has over 17,000 islands at its disposal is indeed a very attractive destination for cruise tourism. 19 Indonesian ports have been already chosen for promotion. These include Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Belitung in Bangka Belitung Islands, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Rinca in East Nusa Tenggara and Ambon.
Indonesia Wants to Attract More Overseas Cruise Ship Visitors
News in Asia
Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have been recently and widely promoting themselves as cruise ship destinations but Indonesia feels potential to offer more to operators in the industry.