Indonesia's Tourism minister is expecting that a visit from US President Barack Obama will boost tourism in Indonesia. President Obama spent some years of his childhood in Indonesia.

Indonesia's Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said that "If President Obama comes to Indonesia, it will send huge positive message to the people specially that Indonesia is very safe to travel.

He also believed that Obama's visit will generate positive media coverage which will boost the tourism in Indonesia.

Indonesia is one of the few countries still growing despite the recession. In 2009 around 6.45 million foreign tourists visited the country .8 up from 2008. Indonesia's growth has mainly been triggered by Bali, one of the most visited tourist destination in the world. However this number is very less significant comparing to Indonesia's neighbor like Malaysia who receives more than 20 million tourists per year.

It would be interesting to see how much impact does the visit of Obama makes on the Indonesian Tourism since President Obama is dropping his popularity all over the world in past few months.

tags: Indonesia Tourism, Indonesia, Barack Obama, Bali, Malaysia, Indonesia Travel