Published on September 4, 2014
Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, was Guest of Honor at the China International Tourism Industry Expo (CITIE) 2014 which was held in Guangdong from 28th to 29th August 2014. This in recognition of the many promotional programs conducted by the Ministry in China since last year.
Preceding the Expo, a press conference was held, attended by about 30 media which featured a presentation by Minister Mari and the opening speech by the Governor of Guangdong, Zhao Yufang.
On the occasion, Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and Deputy Secretary of Guangdong Province signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Indonesian tourism industry and the People’s Republic of China’s tourism industry. Minister Mari Pangestu was accompanied by Director General of Tourism Marketing, Esthy Eko Astuty and Indonesia’s Consulate General for China in Guangzhou (that also includes Guangdong), A.A.G. Alit Santhika.
The expo was participated by delegates from 50 countries. The Indonesian Pavilion featured 10 of the country’s finest tourism industries including PT TMS Travel, PT. Nusa Raya Travel, Bali Bird Park, AstrindonTravel Service, Quest Aston Hotel Semarang, Batik Jayakarta, Nusantara Travel Semarang, GA Guangzhou, Hotel Borobudur Jakarta, Maleste Hotel. Also participating were a number of regional tourism offices.
Featuring attractive games and cultural performances, the Indonesian Pavilion successfully calimed 3 awards for : Best Booth Decaration Award, Best organization Award, and Best Performance Award.
Mari explained that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s participation in CITIE 2014 was a follow up of the MoU pertaining to Tourism which was signed by herself and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on 2nd October 2013.
In the MoU, both countries agreed to raise the number of tourists’ visits to 2 million by the end of 2015.
With Indonesia’s participation at CITIE 2014, it is expected that more international tourists from the People’s Republic of China will be assured that Indonesia is a safe and wonderful tourist destination. The event also managed to present more information about Indonesia’s tourism and the country’s extensive variety of destinations, also beyond Bali.
Meanwhile, from January to June 2014, the number of tourists from the People’s Republic of China to Indonesia recorded 451,802 persons, which is an increase of 24.12% compared to the same period last year. Tourists from the People’s Republic of China to Indonesia ranked third after Singapore and Australia.
The surge in tourists from China was also the resultr of promotional efforts conducted by the government together with private sector. Aside from participating in tourism expos in 9 cities in the course of 2013-2014, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also promoted Indonesia in various social media events such as at Weibo and Wechat. Starting 31st August 2-14, the Travel Channel –one of China’s TV Stations- also broadcast 6 episodes of the reality show “Star Breaks” which further introduced Indonesia to audiences in China.
Overall. the number of international tourists to Indonesia from January to July 2014 recorded 5.2 million persons, giving confidence that the target of 9.5 million international tourists will be achieved by the end of this year. In support of this, the Wonderful Indonesia promotion programs will be intensively conducted in a number of countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, and China.
