The group, led by Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) in France, Eka Moncarre, and consisting of representatives from Explorator, Bali Seken, CFA Voyages, the Marco Vasco Travel Agency and La Maison du Voyages tour operators and travel agents, is visiting Sumatra’s famous tourist attractions, such as Lake Toba and Ngarai Sianok.

The French representatives were also to meet operators from West Sumatra, such as PT. Ora Tour, Bravo Tours Padang, On Amanah Digita, PT. Raun Sumatra, Grand Zuri Hotel, Grand Rocky Hotel, Malalatour Indonesia, Limpapah Tour, Ero Tours and Tibo Balai Tours.

Read also: Govt to develop West Sumatra as halal tourist destination

“Seventy percent of overseas tourists that came to West Sumatra were Malaysian, 5 percent were from Australia, while the rest were from Singapore, India and Europe, but the number of tourists from these countries aren’t that high,” said West Sumatra Tourism Agency head Oni Yulfian at the start of the meeting.

“Flash back to the 1990s and 2000s and there were a lot of European tourists, especially from German and France, who came here. Now the numbers are quite low. We’re hoping [to] bring in more European tourists to visit this place,” added the head of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA) in West Sumatra and Ero Tour CEO, Ian Hanafiah.  

Moreover, Tom Colmaire of the Marco Vasco Travel Agency said the event could lead to future partnerships with travel agents in West Sumatra. (kes)

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