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Tourism Ministry holds technical mentoring in Surakarta, focuses on Central Java
Themed “Sinkronisasi Promosi Pariwisata Pasar Asia Tenggara” (Tourism Promotion Synchronization for Southeast Asian Market), the meeting invites all elements of the Tourism Pentahelix (scholars, businesspeople, community, government and media).
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The technical mentoring that's being held in Surakarta, Central Java, provides participants with the same direction and perspective on promoting tourism in Southeast Asia. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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nother technical mentoring session (bimtek) is being held by the Tourism Ministry from May 31 to June 1 at the Sunan hotel, Surakarta, Central Java.
Themed “Sinkronisasi Promosi Pariwisata Pasar Asia Tenggara” (Tourism Promotion Synchronization for Southeast Asian Market), the meeting invites all elements of the Tourism Pentahelix (scholars, businesspeople, community, government and media).
“To have overseas tourists come to Indonesia, there are plenty of overseas promotional events that need to be aligned,” says I Gde Pitana, the Tourism Ministry's deputy for overseas promotion.
“We don’t have the same perspective when it comes to promoting to the ASEAN market, the closest market from our country,” Pitana adds.
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“There 50 participants in the meeting, including from tourism departments and government agencies in Central Java, Tourism Ministry, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) and tourism industry practitioners from Central Java as well as several communities,” says the Tourism Ministry's Southeast Asia tourism promotion assistant deputy Rizki Handayani.
The technical mentoring session provides participants with the same direction and perspective on promoting tourism in Southeast Asia. It also explains the potential of tourist destinations in Central Java for the ASEAN market.
“Also, it is important to understand the mechanism of promoting Indonesian tourism through social media, to improve the effectiveness of tourism departments’ participation in events conducted by the ministry’s overseas promotion department and to be knowledgeable about the development of destinations and attractions that are worthy to be promoted to the ASEAN market,” explains Pitana.
The overseas tourism marketing strategy for this year emphasizes hard-selling activities, especially through exhibitions and sales missions. The Ministry will hold 54 overseas events throughout the year.
Out of the 54 events, 30 are exhibitions and 24 are selling missions, “We also hold 30 festivals and 51 familiarization trips,” says Pitana.
According to statistics, 60 percent of Southeast Asian tourists opt to travel to other ASEAN areas.
Handayani says currently only Malaysia and Singapore had direct flights to Central Java via airports in Semarang and Surakarta. The ministry is trying to lure tourists from Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines to visit Central Java.
“We are pushing for the opening of a Bangkok – Surakarta flight route since Central Java is home to several volcanoes that Thailand doesn't have,” says Handayani. (asw)
