The familiarization trip will be organized in cooperation with EVA AIR to introduce Indonesia's major tourist destinations catering to the interests of French tourists, Nia Niscaya, deputy II in charge of market development of the Tourism and Creative Economic Ministry, told Antara correspondent in London on Tuesday.
"After we had organized exhibitions and joint promotion activities to meet and talk with wholesalers, they are invited to personally witness the beauty of Indonesian destinations. It is expected that following the trip, the wholesalers would offer packages to potential French tourists," Niscaya stated.
She is optimistic that the invited travel agents would come up with packages to attract more French tourists to Indonesia.
Eka Moncarre, the VITO country manager for France, stated that most French tourists were until now only aware of Bali. Hence, promoting other tourist destinations beyond Bali would be critical to attracting the French people.
"Sumba is a new destination that French tourists will like due to its beautiful beaches and also unique culture. Komodo Island is another new destination frequently promoted this year to the French people. Moreover, it is included among the top five priority destinations," Moncaree stated.
They will be in Sumba from Nov 28 to Dec 3, 2019, to explore nature. They will later proceed to Labuan Bajo and stay there on Dec 3-5, 2019, among other things, to visit Komodo Island.
French tourists can experience Indonesia’s interesting natural panoramas in the form of tropical rainforests, green mountains, and rice fields along with its high rain precipitation.
France is expected to emerge as a potential market for Indonesian tourism, so Indonesia is upbeat about witnessing an increase in the number of foreign tourists from Europe.
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Translator: Zeynita G, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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