By Roy Lie Atjam
On March 4th, 2024, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (MOTCE) organized a Sales Mission event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The objective of the event was to promulgate Indonesian tourism and support foreign tourist visits, specifically from the Netherlands. Garuda Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague supported the initiative. The sales mission served as a prelude to Indonesia’s participation in the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin, ITB Berlin in 2024, the largest tourism exhibition in the world.
Counsellor Mr. Fransiskus X. Widiyarso, gave a welcome speech in place of H.E. Ambassador Mayerfas.
Indonesia Tourism has received several awards, including the prestigious ASEAN Tourism Award. Additionally, Indonesian Tourism was named the world’s first top Muslim-friendly destination in 2023.
The event took place in the Java room of the Java Hotel, which was packed to capacity. The MOTCE Director, Mr. Rukendi, and his team of professionals, specially flown in from Jakarta, put on an impressive presentation.
The sellers participating in ITB Berlin 2024 maximized their activities by participating in the Sales Mission activities in Java Hotel Amsterdam on March 4th, 2024, and met potential business partners, especially partners from Garuda Indonesia Amsterdam.
The Sales Mission activity included conveying the latest information on Indonesian tourism, the latest information regarding destinations and flights from Indonesia to the Netherlands, and updates from Atlas Beach Bali. Mr. Ben Leek, Director of Operations, introduced a new beverage called “Sambal Matah.”(extract) The main activity was the B2B Table Top Meeting, which was an avenue to introduce and offer Indonesian tourism package products to potential buyers in the Netherlands.
Director of Tourism Marketing for Europe, Middle East, America, and Africa (EMEAA), Cecep Rukendi, and Mr. Naufal Aflah, General Manager of Garuda Indonesia Amsterdam, were also speakers at the presentation. The Netherlands is a market with a stable number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia annually. In 2023, the number of tourists from the Netherlands reached 113% compared to 2019, showing a strong recovery process in the tourism sector. Moreover, in terms of connectivity, the Netherlands is the only country that has direct flights with the national airline, Garuda Indonesia.
The Sales Mission activity was a form of collaborative marketing between the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and various stakeholders in the tourism sector. The 17 sellers who participated in this activity are also actors in Indonesia’s tourism business who are collaborating in ITB Berlin 2024.
The event’s purpose was to improve the image of Indonesian tourism and to promote various Indonesian tourism destinations to foreign markets, especially the Netherlands. The Sales Mission activity aimed to boost the sales of tourism packages from Indonesia, specifically to the Netherlands market, which ultimately can increase the number of tourist visits from the Netherlands and Europe to Indonesia. Priority was given to using Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia.
Indonesia has set a target of attracting 14.3 million international tourists by 2024. The “Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission Program in Europe 2024 Joint Promotion with Garuda Indonesia,” successfully concluded with a delicious Indonesian cuisine lunch. The sales mission was well-attended and proved to be a successful Tourism Sales initiative held in Amsterdam.
