JAKARTA. The government intends to make the new Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, a major gateway for tourism, a top official said Tuesday.

“We understand that the government is currently boosting efforts to welcome a higher number of tourists. We will step up efforts, especially in catering to international flights, and hopefully Terminal 3 can be a leap in service for Indonesian and international tourists,” Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said as quoted by Antara news agency while inspecting the new terminal.

Budi expressed hope that the new terminal would be used as a transit airport by foreign tourists.

“Currently, more than 15 million tourists [to and] from Australia travel to China, India and other destinations. If we could tap into the number by attracting, say 5 million to transit here [in Jakarta], we might entice 1 million of them to come to Indonesia,” Budi added.  

Terminal 3 officially started operations on Tuesday by welcoming Garuda Indonesia passengers from Jayapura. (dmr)

Editor: Yudho Winarto