Some 13 Indonesian tourism entrepreneurs met yesterday with about 30 of their Brunei counterparts, including travel agents, at the Indonesian Tourism Table Top held at Radisson Hotel in the capital. They discussed possible deals on Indonesian tour packages for the Brunei market.

Sulaiman Shedek, Singapore-based County Manager at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism who is in Brunei, said the Indonesian Government has given its Ministry of Tourism greater impetus to promote Indonesia as a tourism destination, including to attract more visitors from Asean member countries.

He said Indonesia is not as popular as Malaysia, Singapore and other destinations among Brunei holiday-makers. So the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism hopes to address this situation.

He said the ministry was only formed as a separate ministry in 2014 when the current government of President Joko Wido do acknowledged tourism as a vital sector for the country's economic and national development. Previously, tourism was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy during the second term of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency.

Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Nurul Qomar, meanwhile, said Indonesia has developed access for millions of people to fly across Indonesia. Connectivity is essential in developing tourism.

In that context, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB)' and Garuda Indonesia have agreed to code share flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali and vice versa.

"Promotion is also essential. Today's event and tomorrow's (Friday) Brunei Travel Fair is the right thing to do in bringing Indonesia to the people of Brunei," she said.

She said tourism stakeholders from Indonesia and Brunei should develop a creative way of highlighting the distinctive heritage of each country to promote two-way visits.

"Differences are not the obstacle but rather the main factor in bringing people of both countries to visit each other. Similarities on the other hand, will bring closeness since people are familiar with each other," she said.

This year, Indonesia has a target set of 12 million foreign tourist arrivals.

To realise the target and to maximise its presence as an Asean favourite destination, Indonesian offers many and various things to do including a beach holiday in Bali, Lombok, Labuan Bajo and Wakatobi; enjoying cultural diversity and heritage wonders including the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Brodobudur Temple and Prambanan. Temple in Java; diving at unspoiled Raja Ampat; shopping at great prices in Jakarta and Bandung; playing challenging golf with no queues and value pricing at international class courses throughout the country; spas with traditional health and beauty treatments; and an enchanting archipelago of more than 13,000 islands to explore.

The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism also hopes to make Indonesia a top culinary destination in the world.

According the Indonesia Statistics Bureau, the total number of foreign tourists from January-June 2016 was 5,239,583 which was an increase of 27.01 per cent from the same period in 2015.

In 2013, Indonesia is still the third destination visited by Bruneians after Malaysia and Singapore.

Among others, Indonesia has won World' Best Halal Tourism Destination (Lombok), World's best Halal Honeymoon Destination (Lombok) and World's Best Family Friendly Hotel (Sofyan Hotel). Indonesia hopes that those awards will have a positive impact on the promotion and development of Halal Tourism in Asean, specifically for Indonesia to become a Top Muslim-Friendly Destination and encouraging more Bruneians to visit Indonesia.

Herman Rukmanadi, a board member of the West Java Tourism Promotion Board highlighted Bandung as another possible destination for Bruneians.

He said Bandung not only has many places of interest but also offers numerous Halal food outlets because of its Muslim majority population. It is also relatively cooler than Brunei because of its location in a mountainous area.

He said Indonesia is also a shopper's paradise in view of the favourable Brunei dollar-Indonesia rupiah exchange rate.

He also said some branded items are manufactured in Bandung, thus factory outlet shops could offer attractive alternatives for shoppers.

Yesterday's table top event was also attended by tour operators and hoteliers from Indonesian provinces such as Aceh, West Java, Jakarta, Bali and Riau who aimed to give Bruneian tourism players a better understanding of the tourist destinations in Indonesia.

Minister of Tourism of Indonesia, Arief Yahya said the Bruneian tourism entrepreneurs are expected to explore partnerships with their Indonesian counterparts.

"As a result, they can create and sell Indonesia tour packages for the Bruneian market," he said.

Indonesia's destinations across the archipelago will be highlighted at the Indonesian Pavilion during the Brunei Travel Fair from September 2-4, 2016.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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