Middle East conflict may disturb Indonesia’s tourism: minister

JAKARTA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno has said that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East would pose negative impacts on foreign tourist visits in Indonesia as the unstable geopolitical situation would delay flights.
“The unstable situations there had caused delays to flights from and to the countries in the Middle East. Indirectly, the occurring conflicts could reduce interest of foreign tourists to fly for holiday and personal travels, including to Indonesia. They will postpone their visits and reduce their spending,” Uno told a press briefing in Jakarta on Monday.
The Indonesian government has hoped to see at least 14.3 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2024. Data from Statistics Indonesia showed that as of August, the country has recorded 9.09 million foreign tourist visits. ■