Question from Marley

Do a lot of tourist come to Indonesia?


ANSWER: Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. It is reported that over 7 million people visited Indonesia in 2009. The draw for tourists of course is the numerous white sand beaches, tropical weather and resorts. Indonesia has some of the best diving spots in the world with over 17,000 islands as well as world class surfing spots. This combined with the national parks, volcanoes and rainforests offer tourists a complete eco-friendly, well preserved nature experience.

Most people who visit, go to Bali and Jakarta or the Thousand Islands. With over 300 ethnic groups tourists also get to experience a cultural lesson as well. Golfing is also big in Indonesia so there are many golf courses and even my husband's first visit to Indonesia was so he could play. My first visit here was to Medan and to visit Lake Toba in northern Sumatra. Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world and is known as the home of the largest volcanic eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years. It's a very beautiful place (see photo) and the journey to get the lake was very interesting, driving through different small towns, seeing volcanoes (see photo) and even battling traffic. I would compare it to Lake Tahoe but on a grander scale. If you're ever in Indonesia, it's not to be missed.