Indonesia's national carrier Garuda aims to launch direct flights to India this year to cater to the growth in business and tourism traffic between the two countries.
Garuda Indonesia has received the Indian government's permission and the first service is likely to connect Mumbai, Jakarta and Bali, according to Indonesian officials.
Further discussions in this regard are expected between Indonesia's transport minister and the Indian civil aviation minister at an airline industry event in Hyderabad in March, according to Indonesian ambassador Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma.
Indonesia has seen a spike in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) from India, but its tourism promotion efforts have been stymied by a lack of direct air connections.
The Indonesian ambassador said Garuda has had permission to fly to India since 2008 and should have started flights much earlier.
The number of Indians visiting Indonesia is projected to grow to 500,000 in four years compared with 262,000 in 2015, according to Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism.
This year's "Wonderful Indonesia" promotion campaign has a target of 350,000 Indian tourists. And if these numbers are to be achieved, travellers must be able to reach their Indonesian destinations without transiting regional transport hubs of Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.
Apart from Garuda airlines, AirAsia Indonesia X, a long-haul service arm of budget airline AirAsia, is also in talks with Indian authorities to launch direct flights. The airline is seeking approval to connect either Jakarta or Bali with Mumbai this year.
Bali is a hugely popular Indonesian destination for Indian travellers, especially newly-married couples.
"The consulate general of Indonesia in Mumbai will push the Ministry of Tourism to open direct flights for the first time between Delhi and Jakarta and Mumbai and Bali… First it'll be a government-to-government engagement and later we can engage private airlines," Taufik Nurhidayat, an Indonesian Ministry of Tourism official, said recently.
Having identified India as a key source market, Indonesia has stepped up its tourism promotion in major Indian cities.
India is among the 90 countries to which Indonesia has extended its visa-free facility.
"We have never been so aggressive in promoting Indonesia to Indian tourists," Vinsensius Jemadu, a tourism official said at the recent SATTE travel trade show in Delhi.
Indonesia's international visitor numbers in 2015 exceeded 10.4 million, recording an increase of more than seven percent over the 2014 FTAs. This year's target is 12 million.
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