Published on June 6, 2014
The “Wonderful Indonesia” theme today dominates the scene at the annual Tong Tong Fair at Malieveld, The Hague (Den Haag), in the Netherlands, which is ongoing from 19th May to 9th June 2014. Tong Tong Fair is the largest festival in the world for European-Indonesian culture and one of the oldest festivals , besides being the fourth largest
grand fair in the Netherlands.
For the event, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic Indonesia has provided over 5000 booklets containing information on Indonesia’s many tourist destinations and attractions spread across the archipelago. Presented in Dutch, the booklets feature tourist maps; destinations on Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan-Sulawesi, Bali –Nusa Tenggara Islands, Maluku-Papua; as well as a variety of special interest attractions such as shopping, culinary delights, adventure, spa, and many others. With the booklets is also a travel planner.
“The enthusiasm of the Dutch public to visit Indonesia has always remained high” said Head of the European Promotion division of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Agustini Rahayu, as reported by antaranews.com.
This year, the Indonesian Pavilion features a number of tourism companies, among which, Synergy Ravelino, Antar Anda Tour & Travel, Vista Express Tour & Travel, Putri Gunung Resort Lembang, Rinjani Trekking, and Garuda Indonesia Airlines. There are also representatives from provincial governments who promote their regions including North Minahasa, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, and Lampung.
Meanwhile, at the Tong Tong Festival performance stage, the Indonesian delegation presented the art of Samba Sunda and Dalang (Puppet Masters) from West Java. As special feature, fragments of the classic Ramayana dance-drama from the Palace of the Sultan and Pakualaman in Yogyakarta were staged on Friday evening, 30th May 2014, which completely captivated the audience.
Aside from the Ramayana Ballet, the artists also performed other traditional dances such as the tari Beksan Inom, tari Serimpi Tejonoto, and tarian Golek Cluntang. The Tong Tong Fair Foundation as host of the event has also invited Yogyakarta’s renowned traditional dancer Didik Ninik Towok, and Batik entrepreneur, Affi Syukur.
Formerly known as Pasar Malam Besar (the Great Night Market), the Tong Tong Fair was first established in 1959. The event is a sensory stimulating blend of cultural festival, exhibition and food fest rolled into one, held in an archipelago of tents and stands. Renamed to Tong Tong Fair in 2009, the event is also recognized as the annual event with the highest number of paying visitors in The Hague, having consistently attracted more than 100,000 visitors each time since 1993.
More Information available at: http://tongtongfair.nl/
