Jakarta: Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution has encouraged Indonesian Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to promote Indonesian products and tourist destinations.
Indonesia is the largest Muslim majority country in the world. It is also the largest economy in the Islamic world.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman traveled to Indonesia in 2017. The Saudi Arabian leaders also visited the island of Bali during the trip.
"Travel agencies should not only offer Haj and Umrah packages for Indonesians. The agencies should also offer traveling packages for Saudi Arabians," the minister said here on Tuesday.
"If they could do that, our trade deficit might decrease," the minister added.
According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia recorded 15.8 million foreign tourist arrivals throughout 2018. The number increased by 12.58 percent compared to the previous year.
The country welcomed 1.41 million foreign tourist arrivals in December 2018. It increased by 21.43 percent compared to the previous month.
The room occupancy rate (TPK) of star classification hotels in Indonesia reached an average of 59.75 percent in December 2018. It decreased by 0.44 percentage point compared to the previous month.
"When I visited Saudi Arabia, I found a lot of Chinese products. We should develop our industry. So we could compete with China," the minister noted.
Quoting a report from BPS, Indonesia recorded a trade deficit of US$8.57 billion in 2018. It was the highest ever recorded by the agency.
Indonesian exports reached US$180.06 billion in 2018. The number increased by 6.65 percent compared to 2017.
Indonesian non-oil and gas exports reached US$162.65 billion last year. The number increased by 6.25 percent compared to the previous year.
Cek Berita dan Artikel yang lain di Google News
FOLLOW US
Ikuti media sosial medcom.id dan dapatkan berbagai keuntungan
