Indonesia will focus on Bali and islands near Singapore rather than developing more remote spots in the world’s largest archipelago, as it seeks to double tourist numbers by 2020. The government’s marketing budget has been increased fourfold to 1 trillion rupiah ($75 million) this year, a sign of President Joko Widodo’s commitment to the industry, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said in a Bloomberg interview on June 23. That money will be spent promoting Bali, Jakarta and the islands of Batam and Bintan close to Singapore, which generate about 90 per cent of the country’s revenue from international tourists, he said. … Continue reading →