JAKARTA: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has reaffirmed its continued support to Indonesia to bring international visitors to the country.

This comes amid fears that Jakarta may not be able to achieve its visitor target this year, following the ban imposed by the European Union on its national carrier, Garuda.

SIA's latest memorandum of understanding will see both sides jointly promoting Indonesia to key markets around the world, including Europe, where Indonesia's national carrier Garuda has been banned from flying after failing to meet safety standards.

With more than 60 flights covering several destinations in Europe, SIA is set the fill in the gaps for Indonesia.

Huang Cheng Eng, executive vice president, Marketing & Regions, SIA, said: "We have our daily flight to Moscow. And we have additional capacity to Bali. It puts it together. And we know that when people from Russia come here, they not only relax, but also spend."

Indonesia's tourism minister expressed confidence that this co-operation will help Indonesia achieve this year's target of seven million visitors.

Jero Wacik, Indonesia's Tourism Minister, said: "The first semester (has) already hit three million. And the second semester should be about four million more. I think with Singapore Airlines and other flights, we can achieve that."

Together with its sister company Silkair, SIA operates 133 weekly flights from Singapore to nine destinations in Indonesia, the largest and most frequent in the region.

The airline said it is considering applying for more landing rights in Indonesia's huge archipelago.

The MOU will certainly help Indonesia achieve its target visitors arrival. But the challenge for Jakarta is to entice visitors to stay longer in the country.

By one estimate, Indonesia stands to benefit some US$5 billion in foreign exchange annually if visitors stay nine days or longer from the current five. - CNA/vm