RI Proposes Tourist-Friendly Airport Program In APEC Forum

Solo, Central Java, April 24 (Antara) - Indonesia during the 42nd APEC Tourism Working Group meeting held last Tuesday proposed the establishment of tourist-friendly airport program to support connectivity in Asia and the Pacific, official said. "The proposal received positive responses from representatives of APEC economies, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the World Tourism Organization," Chief of the Indonesian delegation I Gde Pitana said here on Wednesday. Pitana stated Indonesia`s proposal in the Solo meeting is in line with this year`s focus theme about travel facilitation in an effort to accelerate and improve connectivity in the region. Apart from proposing tourist-friendly airport program, Indonesia also emphasized the importance to ease off visa application for people traveling within APEC economies. As an example, in Indonesia 50 percent of the total number of tourists coming to the country in 2012 were from APEC economies namely Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines and Russia. The Tuesday meeting was participated in by representatives from APEC economies namely from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam. APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim economies seeking to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world. APEC member economies are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and Viet Nam.