Jakarta, (Antara) - The Indonesian Consulate General in Karachi, Pakistan, is promoting Jember in East Java as a new tourist destination in the country among Pakistani citizens, according to a statement received by Antara here on Wednesday.
"Jember has several tourist attractions, one of which is the Jember Fashion Carnival," Economic Affairs Function at the Consulate Oktorian Saleh Hakim stated.
Tourism promotion activities were organized by the consulate during the 30th International Gourmet Air War Course 2017 in Karachi.
South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman, Malaysia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe participated in the event.
Data obtained from the foreign affairs minister revealed that at least 200,000 Pakistani tourists visit Southeast Asia every year.
"Most of them only know about Jakarta and Bali," Hakim noted.
He added that the promotion event was aimed at disseminating information on new tourist destinations in Indonesia among Pakistanis.
"The holiday season will start in May and last until August 2017. We still have time to promote tourist attractions, especially to Pakistani teenagers," Hakim said, adding that although Pakistan still falls under the calling visa category, the number of citizens being issued tourist visas is showing a positive trend.
Data recorded at the Indonesian Consulate in Karachi indicated that 2,385 tourist visas were issued in 2016, an increase from 1,038 visas recorded in 2015.(*)
