With 75% of the world’s maritime biodiversity, Indonesia aims to attract more marine tourism enthusiasts. The country targets 14.6–16 million foreign visitors in 2025, with cross-sector collaboration seen as crucial to achieving this goal.
The 'Anthem of the Seas' cruise ship docked at Benoa Port in Denpasar, Bali, on February 28, 2025. (Photo: ANTARA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Deputy Minister of Tourism Ni Luh Puspa has highlighted the country's potential to become a global cruise hub, emphasising collaboration with international cruise operators to establish Indonesia as a home port.
The government is enhancing maritime infrastructure and policies to support this vision, with Bali's Benoa Port playing a key role. Recent improvements have enabled the port to accommodate multiple large cruise ships simultaneously, and its capacity continues to expand.
In 2024, Benoa Port handled 59 cruise ships, up from 48 in 2023, with 77 visits expected this year. The maritime tourism sector, particularly in Bali, is projected to contribute significantly to Indonesia’s tourism growth.
With 75% of the world’s maritime biodiversity, Indonesia aims to attract more marine tourism enthusiasts. The country targets 14.6–16 million foreign visitors in 2025, with cross-sector collaboration seen as crucial to achieving this goal.
Bali remains Indonesia’s top tourist destination, accounting for 45% of the country’s 13.8 million foreign arrivals in 2024. Other key marine tourism sites include Labuan Bajo and Raja Ampat./.
Around 600 volunteers, including locals, hotel staff and tourists, gathered on beaches in Bali to clean up massive plastic waste washed ashore by monsoon rains.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on September 27 that the country’s government targets the light rail transit (LRT) project in Bali to start its groundbreaking in early 2024.
PT Pertamina Bina Medika Indonesia Healthcare Corporation (IHC) has announced that it is constructing Bali International Hospital (BIH), an internationally recognised healthcare facility in the Health Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Sanur, Bali.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
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Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Efforts to empower women must transcend dialogue and translate into concrete commitments, including corporate pledges and government partnerships, according to the spouse of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The forum featured two in-depth discussion sessions, engaging representatives from governments, think tanks, and businesses from both ASEAN and China, on how to forge closer ties for a common future.
The new FIFA Hub in Jakarta will not only support football development in Indonesia but also serve as a coordination centre for 21 football associations across Southeast and East Asia.
Minister Counselor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen reaffirmed Vietnam’s principled and consistent stance on the Palestine issue, calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire across the entire Gaza Strip.
PM Anwar Ibrahim affirmed the determination of Malaysia, as ASEAN Chair for 2025, to utilise all viable regional mechanisms of the bloc and work with partners to de-escalate violence and restore a peace process led by Myanmar.
Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925–2025), Nikulina, who is also a veteran journalist of Russia’s Sputnik News, emphasised the vital role of mainstream journalism in defending the truth and maintaining public trust.
The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
The World Bank will provide a 2.1 billion USD financing package for Indonesia, focusing oncreating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and enhancing access to clean energy across the country.
