Under the strategy, known in the trade as the “Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions” (MICE) strategy, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s secretary-general, Sapta Nirwandar, was on the road show to Norway’s Oslo to promote Indonesian tourism.
From Norway, which has long been a tourism market for Indonesia but has yet to be fully exploited, Sapta expects a 20 percent increase from last year’s 16,000 visitors.
Indonesia‘s tourism industry received a blow just after the road show when the European Union decided to ban Indonesian airlines from flying to the region on safety concerns.
The lifting of the ban is now being reconsidered, while figures from the BPS show that it resulted in no significant drop in tourist arrivals.
On Indonesia‘s hopes to consolidate its unique cultural products through the road show, the ministry’s head of foreign cooperation, Nies Anggraeni, said this was important given the growing trend among neighboring countries to promote a number of Indonesian traditions as their own.
“Our batik, the Dayak traditions in Kalimantan, and even the West Javanese ‘angklung’ traditional musical instrument are among the things that could be lost to other countries if we do not promote them ourselves,” she said.
