Indonesia will initiate a number of measures in order to attract Chinese tourists, Indonesian Ambassador to China A. A. Kustia said yesterday during a tourism interactive dialogue attended by government officials and tourism industry insiders from both countries, according to today's China Daily.

The ambassador, also head of the Indonesia delegation, attended the ongoing 2001 China International Tourism Festival held in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Indonesia expects to become one of the major destinations of Chinese tourists in the coming years.

According to the ambassador, the Indonesian Government has created a special set of tourist polices to take responsibility for the protection of all tourists' property and personal safety.

He said that the memorandum of understanding on tourism has been signed by the Chinese and Indonesian governments.

The Indonesian Government will try its best to simplify visa registration procedures for tourists, and efforts will be made to speed up the processing of their tour applications, the ambassador said.

To convenience Chinese tourists, the government has also launched seven Chinese-language newspapers and one TV channel

The Indonesian Government is also promoting co-operation among Indonesian and Chinese universities to improve the Chinese language abilities of those involved in the local tourism industry.

"All tourists from China will really feel at home when they choose to visit Indonesia," the ambassador said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 12,2001)