In Monaco, the Indonesia Pavilion was voted Best Participant by the organizers of the 25th International Tourism Exchange and Tourism Fair and Equipment for Hotels & Catering (METUBES) Fair which was held from April 21 to 23 in Budva, Montenegro.
Through the Indonesian Embassy in Belgrade, the "Wonderful Indonesia" brand was promoted and Indonesia became the first Asian country to become a partner of the event.
The Indonesian Embassy in Belgrade informed in a statement received in Jakarta on Saturday that Indonesian Ambassador to Montenegro, Harry Kandou, is working to strengthen relations between both nations.
One of the steps aimed at fostering relations between Indonesia and Montenegro is the participation in the METUBES Fair.
Indonesias presence in Montenegro is not merely to attract tourists but also to boost business-to-business cooperation in the field of tourism. "The Indonesian Pavilion sprawled over I63 square meters promotes the "Wonderful Indonesia" tourism program with a focus on the maritime sector.
Visitors to the pavilion enjoyed various overviews of the Indonesian tourism experiences, Habadi Soewedo, chief cultural and social affairs information officer of the Indonesian Embassy in Belgrade, said.
The Indonesian Embassy continues to combine various types of promotions including travel destinations, cultural, culinary and fashion, in each of the embassys activities. If these promotions are handled well, the blend of all tourism aspects can further make them more effective, according to the ambassador.
In the fair titled "Wonderful Indonesia," the Indonesian Pavilion presented a lot of attractions, such as the special coffees of Indonesia and its traditional dances. The various strategies are aimed at instilling in the minds of potential travelers the idea of a "dream holiday" in Indonesia, as well as establishing a brand image of Wonderful Indonesia in the European region.
In China, particularly in the Henan Province, the Indonesian Tourism Ministry also promoted tourism trough the "Wonderful Indonesia" brand at the Nanyang Cultural Festival. The Chinese cultural festival is being held in Henan on April 20-26, 2016.
Assistant Deputy for Asia Pacific Market Development of the Tourism Ministry, Vinsensius Jamadu, said in Jakarta on Thursday (April 21) that the mission of his ministry in the Chinese festival was to attract Chinese tourists to visit Indonesia. China is one of the main market for Indonesian tourism.
In the festival, the Ministry of Tourism staged a number of traditional arts performances and presented various Indonesian special foods such as rendang (meat simmered in spices and coconut milk), fried rice, satay, chicken soup, oxtail soup and rawon (beef stew and other fixings) soup.
"The taste of the Indonesian culinary dishes matches the appetite of Chinese who like savory and spicy foods," noted Vinsensius Jemadu, who also attended the inauguration of the Indonesian "Wonderful Indonesia" restaurant in Hebei, Anhui province, China, recently.
In the festival, the tourism ministry open a special stand and gave a chance to visitors to obtain information on various flagship tourism destinations in Indonesia.
The ministry promoted at least 10 primary tourism destinations namely the Buddhist Temple of Borobudur, the Mandalaika, the Labuhan Bajo, the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, the Seribu Islands, the Lake Toba, the Wakatobi, the Tanjung Lesung, Morotai and the Tanjung Kelayang tourist destinations.
This promotion is in line with Tourism Minister Arief Yahyas appeal to tourism officials to ensure that the Indonesian tourism marketing promotion efforts across the world result in better contacts with the media. These should also promote the various deregulation measures undertaken by the Indonesian government to provide easy visa to tourists intending to visit Indonesia.
In the meantime, "Wonderful Indonesia" has also won appreciation from Prince Albert II of Monaco when it was introduced during an Indonesia-Monaco Friendship Night in Monte Carlo on April 20.
The Tourism Ministry Secretary, Ukus Kuswara, said in Monaco on Saturday that Monacos head of state appreciated the campaign when he attended the friendship night, where cultural and arts performances were the highlight.
Apart from Prince Albert II, the friendship night, an initiative of the Indonesian tourism ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, was also attended by government officials, the head of state palace, the head of Monaco Economic Agency, industrialists and tourism business players of the kingdom state.
As part of its efforts to attract tourists from the Middle East, the Tourism Ministry will also take part in the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), scheduled for April 25 to 28, 2016.
The Tourism Ministry will promote the "Wonderful Indonesia" program at the "Arabian Travel Mart" as part of its efforts to develop global tourism networks and attract more foreign tourists to Indonesia.
The Assistant Deputy for America, Middle East, Europe Tourism Promotion at the Tourism Ministry, Nia Niscaya, said on Thursday (April 21) that the Middle East is a big tourism market for Indonesia.
Currently, Indonesia is trying to catch up with Malaysia, which attracts about 300 thousand tourists from the Middle East, or with Thailand, which receives some 800 thousand tourists from the same region.
"The Middle East market is big, with tourists spending more than the average expenditure norms. Generally, the length of stay for the Middle East tourists is about 8.5 days, with an average spending of about US$1,190 each. In Dubai, we target family tourists, who spend about two to three months of holidays during the dry season," Nia said.
The participation of Indonesia in the Arabian Travel Mart will be the 14th such appearance. This year, the Tourism Ministry has invited 52 national tourism operators, restaurants and hotels.
(A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(A014/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
