INDONESIA ABLE TO FIND OTHER WAYS IN FACE OF FLIGHT BAN TO EUROPE

Padang, W Sumatra, June 7 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is able to find another way in increasing the number of visiting European tourists to Indonesia, despite a ban imposed by the European Union Commission on Indonesian airlines, an official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said.

"We regret the ban but we are still able to find another way how to increase the number of European tourists to Indonesia," Nia Nurcaya, director for convention, incentive and promotion affairs of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, said here over the weekend.

She said that airlines were main component that supported Indonesia's tourism development but the Indonesian airlines were still banned from flying over the European airspace.

In the face of the ban, the government, in this case the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, allowed foreign airlines to increase the frequencies of their flights to Indonesia.

"This means that tourists can come with foreign airlines to Indonesia. Thus, Indonesia is facilitating foreign airlines flight frequencies to Indonesia," she said.

For this purpose, the government has granted increased flight frequencies for the Singapore Airlines to fly tourists to Bali.

The aim of this cooperation is to fly European tourists to Indonesia through Singapore. Previously, many Russian tourists flew to Singapore but the number of flights from Singapore to Bali was still small.

With the cooperation, the Singapore-Bali flight frequencies have been increased, and a problem faced with the flight ban is overcome, she said.

Ideally, foreign tourists coming to Indonesia should be flown by Indonesian airlines but due to the flight ban Indonesia has to seek other ways to maintain the number of foreign foreign tourist arrivals in the country.

"What is important for the tourism and culture ministry is that foreign tourists are able to come to Indonesia with any other airlines," she said. ***5***