Whoosh could support efforts to achieve the target of the movements of domestic and foreign tourists in Indonesia in 2023.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train dubbed Whoosh, which will officially operate starting October 2, 2023, is expected to have an impact on improving the quality of the country's tourism and creative economy sector, especially tourist accessibility to various destinations and creative economy centers in West Java.

The Deputy for Strategic Policy at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Dessy Ruhati, said after joining the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train joy ride on Friday (Sept. 29), that Whoosh could support efforts to achieve the target of the movements of domestic and foreign tourists in Indonesia in 2023.

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia and Bandung is the country’s province of West Java.

"This (the high-speed train) will certainly support efforts to improve the quality of tourism which could help connectivity to various tourist destinations for domestic and foreign tourists," Dessy Ruhati explained.

Until the middle of this year's semester, the number of domestic tourists in Indonesia had reached around 433 million.

With the presence of the high-speed train and various other prospects of utilizing connectivity in a number of transportation means, it is hoped that the target of the movements of 1.2 billion-1.4 billion domestic tourists in 2023 could be achieved.

To support efforts to reach the target, Dessy said that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy always encourages industries to start creating tourist travel packages by including the high-speed train as an attraction or transportation of choice.

"In the future (the high-speed train) will also be developed not only to Bandung but to the tip of Java Island as well including Surabaya. And in welcoming the vision of a Golden Indonesia in 2045, the Indonesian Railway Company (PT KAI) is also expected to make (high-speed trains) in Sumatra Island and Sulawesi Islands or various other areas (in the country)," she explained.

The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train is divided into three class categories, namely those with the tariff of 350,000 rupiahs for the first class, 300,000 rupiahs for the business class, and 250,000 rupiahs for the premium economy class. 1 USD = about 15,500 rupiahs.

The Jakarta-Bandung Whoosh train is equipped with various facilities including comfortable seats with wide legroom, power sockets on each seat, folding tables, television sets, and disabled-friendly toilets.

The high-speed train, which has a maximum speed of 350 km/hour, will stop at four stations, namely the Halim Station in Jakarta, the Karawang Station, the Padalarang Station and the Tegalluar Station (the last three in West Java).

Reporting by Indonesia Window