Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago of more than 17,500 islands, expects a further boost with tourist interest after having an eventful week exhibiting at the Arabian Travel Market 2011, the region’s leading event for the travel and tourism industry, which took place last month at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is an increasingly important growth area for Indonesia’s tourism sector, with the number of UAE visitors to Indonesia increasing by more than 30% between 2009 and 2010, climbing to more than 4,900 from 3,760, according to data from the National Statistical Bureau.

“Even though visitor numbers from the UAE are still relatively low when compared with other markets, we believe that through further ongoing cooperation between both the public and private sectors of Indonesia and the UAE, visitors from the Emirates and other parts of the region will continue to increase year to year,” said Sapta Nirwandar, Director General of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of The Republic of Indonesia.

Visitors from the Middle East and other international destinations are drawn to Indonesia’s broad range of natural attractions, including unspoiled beaches and UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Java’s Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple.

In addition to exploring Indonesia’s cultural diversity and natural beauty among its 17,500 islands, Indonesia also offers many other tourism drawcards. These include opportunities for adventure tourism, excellent value shopping in Jakarta and Bandung, world class golf courses and traditional health and beauty treatments, all within a safe, family-oriented holiday destination.

Overall, Indonesia’s international visitor arrivals by the end of 2010 reached more than 7 million, an increase of almost 9% from 2009, with total tourist revenue in excess of $7 billion and average individual visitor expenditure of $1,000.

He attributes this growth to initiatives such as its successful international campaign, “Visit Indonesia Year 2010”, its involvement in ATM along with other regional events and activities also set to boost tourism between the Middle East and Indonesia.

“Having participated in Arabian Travel Market and other large-scale regional events, we now expect to see increasing growth in tourist arrivals from the Middle East. The government of Indonesia is well aware of the importance of this region to its tourism industry, a fact also highlighted by our appointment of a Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer in Dubai from 2008.

“We work collaboratively with governments of the region, particularly the UAE, to promote Indonesia’s culture and tourism, through a range of activities including on-line promotion, sponsorship, media releases and other ongoing efforts,” added Nirwandar.

In addition to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, other key tourism markets for Indonesia are Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, India, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany.