CENTRAL Java is busy upgrading its infrastructure in anticipation of an influx of travellers during Visit Central Java Year 2013.

Central Java Culture and Tourism Office head, Prasetyo Aribowo, said: “The new airport terminal (at Achmad Yani International Airport in Semarang) is being built to the north of the current terminal, at an investment of 800 billion rupiah (US$80 million), and is expected to be completed next year.”

Construction of a new toll road linking Semarang and Solo is also expected to finish in 2014, and will halve the journey time between the two cities to about an hour each way.

Meanwhile, the regional government and Central Java Tourism Promotion Board will jointly organise the Indonesia Corporate Meeting & Incentive Travel Mart 2013 in Semarang to showcase the various destinations in Central Java for meetings and incentives.

“Places like Semarang and Solo have good facilities for meetings, and there are different themes to offer incentive groups,” said Aribowo, adding that the target for 2013 was to hit 25 million arrivals, compared to 21.8 million last year.