This study aims to analyse the determinants of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia. Tourism sector is important in Indonesian economy because it is one of potential sources of foreign exchange and promotes economic growth. Decrease in number of domestic tourists is not as important as foreign ones since the later can be a potential source of foreign exchange. Model of travel cost demand for tourism is estimated using panel data, consisting of 34 countries across the globe during 2002-2011. Data were compiled from Indonesian Statistical Agency and the World Bank database. The result shows that distance is a one of significant factors that reduces the number of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia. The richer and larger countries boost greater amount of tourists traveling to Indonesia. Bomb attack reduced the number of foreign tourists. Tourists from western and ASEAN countries were more likely to visit Indonesia than others. Last, the trend of foreign tourists increased after significant fall because of bomb attacks. Indonesian policy should provide a guarantee of safety to tourists in order to attract more arrivals. Increase in such visit will lead to increase in job creation and share of GDP, and eventually strengthen Indonesian economy.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implications of and assess the economic and sustainable impact of environmentally friendly technological packages introduced into agribusiness players in the centre of chilli-producing regions of Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This study used a theory of optimisation in production as a fundamental analysis. Producers are assumed to maximise profit by allocating rational amounts of inputs as the components of technological packages. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. The rate of technology adoption was evaluated, and agribusiness performance was measured using an economic advantage and technical efficiency. Data were compiled using group discussions and individual surveys. Findings The packages of technologies improved economic and sustainability performance of agribusiness resulting from efficient use of agrochemicals and water resource, and increase the production. Socio-economic and technical factors influenced performance farmers, as agribusiness players responded positively towards the ecological technology packages. Research limitations/implications The sustainability of agribusiness was indicated by the reduction in agrochemical use and by the efficient use of water irrigation. There are other measures of sustainability, which are beyond this study. Additional studies are expected to fill the gap. Practical implications Considerable potential exists for broad adoption of these technological packages in Indonesia if they are disseminated effectively and in a close partnership with local extension agencies, farmers’ organisations, local non-governmental organisations and private sectors. Originality/value This study provides a realistic representation of a current condition because this is an empirical study conducted at the grass-root level. Sustainability of agribusiness practices was achieved with ecological technological packages.

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Purpose – Chilli plays an important role in the Indonesian economy through its multiplier effect. The recent rapid growth of chilli production in Indonesia can be explained by the development of agricultural and communication technologies and improved market infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to analyse factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt chilli-based agribusinesses. Intensive chilli farming, as a part of agricultural commercialisation, is considered a technological package that is more profitable but also more input- and labour-intensive than the production of rice or other cereal crops. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a logit model to estimate the farmers’ decision function. Personal characteristics, technical factors and business environment were hypothesised to influence farmers’ decisions to adopt intensive chilli farming. Data for this study were compiled from surveys conducted during 2009-2011. The surveys interviewed 300 farmer households in three main chilli producing regions of Java, Indonesia. Findings – The results indicate that younger farmers, and also farmers with more experience, were more likely to adopt chilli farming. Availability of chilli production technology and the use of mobile phones prompted farmers to adopt chilli farming. Access to vegetable markets, credit, and market information were other factors driving farmers’ decisions to take up chilli production. Most farmers were motivated to grow chilli to increase their incomes. Ecological factors were also the reasons. Research limitations/implications – The sample for this research is quite low. However, the sample was drawn from representative potential chilli production areas in Indonesia. Originality/value – There is room to increase the number of chilli-based agribusinesses in Indonesia. Intensive chilli farming should be introduced to young farmers and those with experience in vegetable production. Farm credit, market information, and agronomic technologies should be made more available and accessible to farmers. Strengthening communication networks among farmers through the use of mobile phones is the best way to encourage farmers to adopt intensive chilli farming. Vegetable markets should be established in potential chilli producing regions.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse aspects of technological change in rice agriculture, related to adoption of the Green Revolution (GR) in Indonesia. Rice production is selected in this study because it plays an important role in the development of Indonesian economy. Particular attention is paid to the use of agrochemicals that has potentials of contaminating the environment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an econometric model to investigate the impact of different technologies and policies related to rice production. Production function technology that enables non-neutrality of input use is the underlying concept of this paper. Types of land and transformation in policies related to rice production were accounted for to determine biased technological change. National-wide data were compiled from the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics. Findings – The results show that rice agriculture underwent technological progress with biased technological change. The technological change was capital- and labour-saving, and agrochemical-augmenting. Production system in wetland led to technological change less capital- and labour-intensive, whilst the GR led to technological change more labour-saving and more agrochemical-augmenting. Research limitations/implications – This study only pays attention to environmentally detrimental inputs as a cause of externalities. This is a not full representation of real environmental consequences. In some studies on environmental degradation associated with intensive agricultural practices, however, there are other factors that can degrade the environment, such as soil erosion and soil compaction resulting from certain agricultural practices, and deforestation resulting from agricultural expansion. These are also important environmental impacts. The author expects that these factors are interesting and challenging subjects to be modelled in future research on sustainability of agricultural productivity growth, both theoretically and empirically. Practical implications – Increase in use of agrochemicals was strongly GR linked. Moving from the GR towards more environmentally friendly policy was a wise step to reach sustainable rice production. After the GR, an act that removed pesticide subsidies and disseminated environmentally friendly technology, called integrated pest management was able to reduce the intensity of agrochemical use in rice agriculture. Further actions to support environmentally friendly policy could be the use of bio-agents such as bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides. Enhancing farmers’ knowledge on the environmental issues and engaging farmers as a part of agro-ecosystem would synergise the actions. Originality/value – This study uses the concept of biased technological change, estimated econometrically using national-level data. The production function used in this analysis enables non-neutrality of agrochemical use. When the result significantly shows the agrochemical-augmenting technological change, it is a convincing evidence, not just by accident, that the GR really led to environmental problem.