"Indonesian diplomats will head tourism promotional activities overseas."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will take part in the 37th International Fair of Tourism (IFT) in Belgrade, Serbia, from February 19 to 22.
According to the Indonesian Embassy in Belgrade, the countrys booth at the event will be based on the theme "Wonderful Indonesia" and will display the beauty of the archipelago, from Aceh to Papua.
An official of the information, social and cultural division of the Indonesian Embassy in Belgrade, Habadi Soewedo, informed in an e-mail received here on Wednesday that they will promote not just tourist destinations in Indonesia but its rich culture and natural resources, as well.
"There will be traditional Indonesian dance and music performances, in addition to a folk songs competition that will be organized," Soewedo affirmed.
The diplomat added that the performers will be Serbian artists who learned Indonesian arts at the embassy.
Moreover, the Indonesian booth at the fair will also put together a quiz about the country and will provide free souvenirs to visitors.
Held in Belgrade, Serbia, the IFT is the biggest annual tourism exhibition in Southeastern Europe.
Every year, the IFT records an increasing number of participants and visitors. In 2014, it saw more than a hundred participants and was visited by 62 thousand people and 10,625 tourism companies from across the world.
Furthermore, the Indonesian government aims to achieve a target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in the country by 2019.
In 2014, Indonesia recorded 9,435,411 foreign tourists, 7.2 percent higher than the 8,802,129 recorded in 2013.
Promoting tourism abroad is part of Indonesian representatives economic diplomatic efforts, as proclaimed by President Joko Widodo.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi had informed the president that the Foreign Affairs Ministry would support promotional activities for tourism.
"To access the visa service, almost half of our representatives overseas have used the online route," Marsudi noted.
She assured that her ministry would fully support the three-day visa service in a friendly, expeditious, accurate, and accountable fashion.
"Indonesian diplomats will head tourism promotional activities overseas," Marsudi affirmed.
(T.A060/A/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: Azi Fitriyanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
