Visit Indonesia to promote destinations beyond Jakarta and Bali

Safe destination for single women travellers from India

SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

Sanjay Sondhi

India is a key market for Indonesia’s inbound tourism – it is in fact one of the 10 top source markets for Indonesia. Sanjay Sondhi, country director, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office pointed out that since the outbound market is growing from India and Indians are looking for new destinations, Indonesia is therefore a natural choice as it is a new destination in South East Asia. “Indonesia has over 17,508 Islands to offer to the Indian traveller. Hence there is a potential for Indonesia to be a repeat destination for Indian tourists. There is much more beyond Bali and Jakarta and our focus will be to promote - Lombok, Yogjakarta, Surabaya and Makkasar. We are hoping for Garuda Indonesia to start direct flight from India as this will make accessibility much easier for the Indian outbound travellers,” said Sondhi. He also pointed out that single women travellers from India can confidently plan their next visit to Indonesia as it is a very safe destination for them.

Indian travellers to Indonesia have been showing a year on year growth in numbers - in 2010 as many as 145,000 Indians had travelled to Indonesia and in 2011 the number is expected to touch 160,000. Visit Indonesia Tourism Office is doubling its promotional activities in India in 2012. It is also looking at targeting cites like Ahmedabad and Kolkata besides other tier II and tier III cities like Surat, Pune, etc. “Both the countries have two factors in common- culture and friendliness, hence Indonesia is a natural draw destination for the Indian traveller,” said Sondhi.

Indonesia has been traditionally a popular destination for honeymooners from India, but now Visit Indonesia Tourism Office is very focused on promoting the country as a MICE destination and the wedding tourism segment. “We have seen a good increase in the MICE segment this year and will continue to focus on this segment. Destination weddings and special interest tours such as golf and adventure are also segments which we hope to target through various sales and marketing activities. FIT leisure segment is also a key segment for us as the destination has best of spa treatments to offer and excellent shopping experience. Family travellers are sure to have fun with numerous waterparks and theme parks available,” stated Sondhi.