Surabaya Aims to Attract 18.11 Million Tourists

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - The Surabaya city government in East Java has set a target of 18.1 million tourist arrivals for this year, a 15 percent increase compared with 15.38 million arrivals last year. The target consists of 860.2 thousand foreign tourists and 17.25 million domestic tourists, head of the Surabaya city culture and tourism office Wiwiek Widayati said here on Thursday. "To achieve the target, the office will optimize several tourist sites, including Sunan Ampel Grave, Pabean Market, and the Museum House of Sampoerna," she added. Surabaya now has 30 tourist sites, she noted, adding that the office has no plans yet to increase the number of sites. "We are focusing on optimizing our existing tourist sites," she stressed. According to Wiwiek, Sunan Ampel Grave is very attractive. It attracts not just domestic tourists but foreign visitors as well, including those from Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Nearly 25 percent of tourists coming to Surabaya visits Sunan Ampel Grave, she observed. "To increase the number of visitors to Sunan Ampel Grave, we are cooperating with a number of travel bureaus," she pointed out. To make Pabean Market more attractive, the culture and tourism office will expand the existing parking lot so that visitors will find it convenient to visit the cultural reserve, she stated. (*) Reported by Abdul Hakim