ER
INDONESIA through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy participated in the world’s second largest tourism exhibition “World Travel Market (WTM) London 2022” which took place in Excel, London, England from 7-9 November 2022.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, in his statement in London, Monday (11/7) said Indonesia’s participation in the tourism market which has existed since 1980 is an effort by the Tourism Ministry to market Indonesian tourism as one of the main destinations in Southeast Asia for the market. English.
“Given that Indonesian tourism for foreign tourists has been opened since February 2022. So, with our participation in the London World Travel Market, it is hoped that we can increase the country’s foreign exchange through tourism and encourage the creation of new and quality jobs,” said Sandiaga.
Several efforts have been made by the Indonesian government to revive the tourism industry, including the exemption of PCR test requirements for international travelers who are healthy upon arrival, exemption from quarantine requirements for tourists who have been fully vaccinated, application of special tourist visas on arrival for 86 countries since September 2022, visa-free for ASEAN member countries, and second home visas.
“The convenience of visa services is an important component that can increase the growth of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia and increase the competitiveness of Indonesian tourism at the global level. In 2023, Indonesia targets 3.5 million to 7.4 million foreign tourist visits. We believe that a second home visa with a validity period of 5-10 years can be a door for a niche market for foreign tourists who meet the criteria,” said Sandiaga.
Meanwhile, the Deputy for Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, added that Indonesia’s participation in WTM London 2022 is also to facilitate 36 Indonesian tourism actors consisting of travel agents, tour operators, destination management companies, and well-known hotel chains, so that they can reactivate their business through global tourism exhibition.
The tourism actors offer a variety of attractive tour packages, including Bali and five super priority tourism destinations (DPSP) which are the mainstay of Indonesia. Namely Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Borobudur, Central Java, Mandalika, NTB, Labuan Bajo, NTT, and Likupang, North Sulawesi.
The expected target of Indonesia’s participation in WTM London 2022 is 29,500 pax, with the transaction value of foreign tourists expected to reach IDR322.280 million or US$ 20,578,512.
“The image of Indonesia as a safe, comfortable, and competitive tourism destination that prioritizes quality and sustainability needs to continue to be built. So that a positive image will encourage potential tourists to the European market in general and the British market in particular to visit Indonesia,” said Ni Made.
“The upper middle class and the upper class in Europe are the main segments to be targeted considering that this market segment still has the will and ability to go on long haul tourism trips abroad next year despite the threat of a recession,” she remarked.
Indonesia through the Ministry of Tourism presents the Wonderful Indonesia Pavilion with an area of 100 m2 and is located at the AS900 booth. In addition to participating in the world travel market, Kemenparekraf also carries out several other marketing activities, such as collaborative marketing, joint promotion, familiarization trips, and festivals.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is currently developing various post-pandemic tourism products that are customized, personalized, localized, and smaller in size. Also, the transition from mass tourism that relies on sun, sea, and sand, to a higher quality tourism that offers experiences of serenity, spirituality, and sustainability.
And one of the focuses is the development of tourist villages, thematic villages, and creative cities. Tourist villages are currently a popular tourist destination in Indonesia.
Indonesia itself has a total of 85,000 villages and 7,500 of them have tourist attractions. Even the tourist village has proven to be a pandemic winner. Evidenced by the increase in tourist interest in tourist villages by up to 30%.
In addition to tourist villages, the Indonesian government is actively running the “Indonesia Spice Up the World (ISUTW)” program. In the future, this program will spur the development of Indonesian restaurant chains abroad as Indonesian gastrodiplomacy in order to achieve an export value of spices and seasonings of US$2 billion and activate as many as 4,000 restaurants abroad by 2024. [traveltext.id]
