Indonesia has announced a new focus on sustainable tourism as it aims to attract 20 million visitors by 2020.
The country has joined the UNWTO network of sustainable tourism observatories, following the opening of three sustainable tourism observatories in Java and Lombok.
Announcing the roll out at the PATA travel mart in Jakarta, tourism minister Arief Yahya revealed the locations are in Lombok and Pangandaran and Sleman in Java.
"The more we preserve, the more prosperous we become," said Arief.
These observatories will contribute to Indonesia’s sustainable practices in other fields."
The observatories, hosted by leading universities in the respective areas, will focus on measurement and management of resources and activities.
Overall, Indonesia has earmarked 20 destinations for pilot sustainable tourism projects.
Separately, Arief also updated the media on progress in its 10 regional destinations which are undergoing development from the ground up.
These destinations are being heavily promoted in order to disperse the tourism flow away from Jakarta, Bali and the Riau Islands.
Between them, these three tourist hubs account for about 90% of all tourist arrivals, Arief said.
