Indonesia finally looking to step up its game in building tourism business

The number of foreign visitors to Indonesia has grown consistently over the past seven years, to eight million last year…Revenue from tourism is $9.12 billion last year from $6.3 billion in 2009.

To increase foreign visitors to 10 million by 2014, the tourism ministry has participated in international travel fairs, promoting the slogan “Wonderful Indonesia.”

But there are obstacles. The problems with Jakarta’s old city — poor infrastructure, lack of tourist facilities like hotels and restaurants and concerns about safety and security — apply to many of the country’s other destinations too.

On April 13, a Lion Air jetliner crashed just short of a runway in Bali…the accident renewed concerns that rapid growth of the country’s airlines had outpaced infrastructure and led to a shortage of skilled pilots.