Indonesia to hold first tourism market

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will hold its own tourism mart next month, which will involve 155 foreign companies and more than 200 domestic firms, to promote its tourism industry, an executive says.

The managing director of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board (BPPI), Wuryastuti Sunario, told a press conference here on Friday that the Tourism Indonesia Mart `94, which lasts from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center, will consist of an exhibition, a seminar and business contacts between local travel agents and foreign tour operators.

She explained that the Tourism Indonesia Mart will be similar with other tourism marts which have been conducted regularly by developed countries, such as Japan, Britain and Germany.

"We hope the tourism mart will support the country's program of increasing the number of tourist arrivals from 3.9 million last year to 6.5 million in 1998," she said.

Wuryastuti said tourism ministers from Myanmar and Cambodia as well as executives of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) are expected to attend the mart, which will be officially opened by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, the current chairman of PATA.

She said each participating company will be given 24 chances of making business contacts with prospective partners during the event and the committee will provide only 20 minutes for each contact.

"If companies are aggressive, they will be able to sign contracts during the mart," she said.

She noted that the 155 foreign tour operators will represent 35 countries, including South Africa, Kenya and China, while the local companies will represent 22 out of the country's 27 provinces.

Five provinces, Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and East Timor, apparently will not send any representatives to the mart.

Wuryastuti said the tourism mart will cost about Rp 3.5 billion, of which Rp 1 billion will be financed by BPPI, Rp 600 million by the City Administration and the remainder by sponsoring companies.

The country's carrier Garuda Indonesia, for example, will provide 200 free tickets for foreign participants and journalists, she said.

All foreign carriers which have branch offices in Jakarta and a number of star-rated hotels and restaurants as well as several state companies and agencies will also support the event.(rid)