JAKARTA, Nov 24, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has stated that his ministry will improve the management of pilgrimage tourism objects with the assistance of every stakeholder.
"I will focus on the marketing, destinations and human resources," Arief Yahya said while speaking at a national workshop on pilgrimage tourism management organized with the cooperation of the Antara news agency, on Wednesday. Among the aspects of pilgrimage tourism management that need to be improved are tourism packaging, promotion, and attractions, he added.
"I asked the country's choreographers (to help improve dances), their customs also needed improvement. We will ask every national television station to help with the promotion. I will also focus on sanitation, clean toilets," he noted. Starting next year, the government will allocate Rp1 billion for the improvement of each pilgrimage destination, particularly to keep the toilets clean.
Concerning human resources, the government will also deploy 100 trainers in each destination to train local guides related personnel including on hospitality. The minister urged local inhabitants to help preserve pilgrimage sites existing in their regions because the sites will in turn help improve their welfare if they are well preserved, manage and promoted.
Indonesia has comprehensive religion-based pilgrimage tourism packages recognized worldwide. Among the famous pilgrimage tourism are the shrines of Wali Songo (Nine Islamic Saints) located on Java Island. At least 12.2 million domestic tourists visited the Wali Songo shrines in 2014 and each tourist spent around Rp300 thousand per visit, or the total spending was about Rp3.6 trillion a year. Some three thousand foreign tourists visited the Wali Songo shrines last year, with a total spending reaching US$450 thousand, or US$150 per day.
The Tourism Ministry has set the target of attracting 18 million domestic tourists to visit the Wali Songo shrines by 2019, or 15 percent of the country's total tourist target by 2019. The pilgrimage domestic tourists are expected to spend an average of Rp400 thousand per visit per person or in total Rp7.2 trillion per year. For foreign tourists visiting the Wali Songo objects, the government has set a target of 10 thousand a year with a total spending at US$1.5 million or an average US$150 per day.
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