ER
THE MINISTRY of Tourism will hold the “Southeast Asia Business Events Forum (SEABEF) 2025” as the first regional international forum to discuss the potential and various challenges of event business in the Southeast Asia region and Indonesia in particular.
Carrying the theme “Strengthening Southeast Asia Event Industry through Sustainability Practice, Strategic Investment, and Collaborative Efforts”, SEABEF 2025 will take place on 10-11 October 2025 at the Nusantara International Convention Exhibition (NICE), PIK 2, Banten.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, in a press conference at the Sapta Pesona Building, Jakarta, Monday (10/06), 2025, said SEABEF 2025 will present panelists and leading experts from industry players, policy makers and regulators related to the event business to discuss and discuss various tourism challenges.
“We invite business event practitioners to share knowledge, experience and expand networks so that the event industry in Indonesia becomes more advanced, innovative and able to produce positive contributions. SEABEF 2025 will be the birthplace of innovative ideas covering the entire spectrum of the event industry,” she said.
Events are one of the main engines driving the national economy. Organizing events can encourage job creation, encourage the growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), stimulate the regional economy, and strengthen the image and competitiveness of Wonderful Indonesia on the world stage.
Throughout 2025, events supported by the Ministry of Tourism succeeded in having an impact by attracting 10.8 million visitors, involving 95,000 event workers, involving 14,800 MSMEs, and generating an economic turnover of IDR11.82 trillion.
“This figure only includes events that receive direct support from the Ministry of Tourism. Imagine, if we counted all the events in our country, how extraordinary the potential and scale of the Indonesian events industry would be. This is a huge opportunity that we must manage and exploit as optimally as possible,” Widiyanti stated.
Despite the great potential, organizing events still faces various challenges. These include financing and investment; event ecosystem; licensing and regulations; commitment to sustainability and inclusivity; as well as accessibility.
The International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA) ranks Indonesia 37th in the world, 10th in Asia Pacific, and 4th in ASEAN for MICE. This position shows that Indonesia has great potential, but still needs to continue to increase its competitiveness.
“We believe that through open dialogue and collaboration between industry players, academics and regulators, we can find appropriate and sustainable solutions,” she explained.
Meanwhile Deputy for Event Organizer Development, Tourism Ministry, Vinsensius Jemadu, said that SEABEF 2025 is a strategic forum because it will bring together the main stakeholders of the events business industry in the Southeast Asia region.
It is hoped that the choice of theme for this event can strengthen the event industry through strategic sustainability practices in the future, also related to investment and other collaborative efforts.
“It is hoped that with this collaboration, SEABEF will become a forum for generating new ideas, business opportunities and policy recommendations to strengthen the business events industry in Southeast Asia,” Vinsen affirmed.
Simultaneously with SEABEF 2025, the Ministry of Tourism also supports holding the Wonderful Indonesia Tourism Fair (WITF) on 9 to 12 October 2025 at the same place. WITF is an event initiated and organized by the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) as a strategic platform to promote Wonderful Indonesia destinations to local and global markets.
WITF is one of the largest tourism fair events in Indonesia with 300 exhibitors and 200 buyers from 40 countries. Apart from the main exhibition, WITF also presents consumer shows for the public.
“Through WITF, we welcome buyers and domestic and foreign tourists to see and experience firsthand the richness of tourism that Indonesia has to offer,” Minister Widiyanti added.
Supporting the implementation of WITF, the Ministry of Tourism will also organize a Familiarization Trip which will bring together 45 travel agents and tour operators from Europe, the Middle East and America to take part in the WITF event. Followed by exploring Indonesia’s leading destinations with the peak of business matching activities in Bali.
“I express my deepest appreciation to GIPI for its collaboration and support in organizing the Wonderful Indonesia Tourism Fair. We believe, through this close cooperation, through discussion and collaboration forums, the Indonesian tourism industry will become more resilient, competitive, and able to showcase the beauty and diversity of our country to the world. Let us continue to move forward together, presenting Indonesian tourism that is increasingly global and sustainable,” she noted.
Likewise, the General Chairman of the Central Management Board of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association, Hariyadi Sukamdani, said that interest from buyers in WITF 2025 was quite high. This can be seen from the number of appointments (B2B appointment settings) recorded to date that have reached 3,200.
“This number is greater than last year (WITF 2024) which was 2,500. And we hope that the number will continue to increase ahead of the event, so that potential transactions will occur there,” concluded Hariyadi. [traveltext.id]
