Indonesia's resort island Bali is expected to organize 17 festivals, 14 of which already approved by the Minister for Arts and Tourism, to celebrate the "Visit Indonesia Year 2008", according to local media on Sunday.

The festivals were expected to attract tourists to visit Bali, Antara news agency quoted head of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Ir Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati as saying.

The promotion for the events had also been made, he said in Bali.

Oka said his side had set the target of drawing 1.9 million foreign tourists from the events in 2008. The target was set based on the arrivals of 1,664,047 foreign tourists in 2007.

Last year, about 5.5 million foreigners visited Indonesia. The government wanted to have 7 million foreign visitors in 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)