Tourism Minister Says Indonesia Eyes Asia-Pacific Tourists in India-based Tourism Exhibition

Indonesia participated in the PATA Travel Mart exhibition in New Delhi, India, to reel in more tourists from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, stated Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno. "It is expected that our participation in tourism exhibitions, like this PATA Travel Mart, would boost the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia," the minister noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Saturday. PATA Travel Mart, initiated by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), constitutes a tourism exhibition that promotes tourism destinations in the Asia-Pacific region by bringing together tourism service providers and their potential customers. Countries in Asia-Pacific have been among the highest contributors to Indonesia's total number of foreign tourists. As of August this year, over 5.3 million tourists from Asia-Pacific had opted for Indonesia as their tourism destination. Deputy for Marketing at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, considered this year's edition of the exhibition, held on October 4-6, as a special event since it was the first exhibition to be held offline in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is the first offline exhibition since 2019, and it serves as a momentum for us to once again demonstrate the existence of Indonesia's tourism in the Asia-Pacific region," she affirmed. Marthini remarked that the business-to-business exhibition had provided the Indonesian government with an opportunity to highlight the appeal of Indonesia's tourism destinations. She then expressed hope that by signing business contracts with international participants, the Indonesian tourism companies participating in the event would gain the expected results. In the 2023 PATA Travel Mart, the ministry collaborated with the Indonesia Inbound Tour Operators Association (IINTOA) to the participating parties from Indonesia. Travel agents that are members of IINTOA made the most of the event to promote a variety of Indonesian tourism packages, including those related to Indonesia's five super priority tourism destinations.