Indonesia and World Tourism News

Indonesia proud to be a part of the global Olympic torch relay

JAKARTA, April 20 (Xinhua) — Indonesia is proud to be a part of the global Olympic torch relay for the first time and will do its utmost to prevent some irresponsible groups from stealing the show at the historical event in Jakarta on April 22.

    ”This is our first time to host the Olympic Torch relay and we are very proud of it,” said the event organizer Sumohadi Marsis in a recent interview with Xinhua.

    Being honored with the opportunity to host the torch relay which is also good news to the government’s Visit Indonesia Year 2008 program, he said.

    The 64-year-old said he was confident that the Beijing Olympic would run peacefully and successfully.

    ”May China also become the overall winner,” he said.

    The National Police have promised a maximum security arrangement, including escort by the anti-terror squad, because “this event is very important for us,” he said.

    Police will deploy at least 1,290 officers to the venue at the Senayan Sports Complex in Central Jakarta for anticipated rallies and any other attempts to steal the show, said Marsis, also a spokesman for the Indonesian National Sports Council (KONI).

    ”We have to separate sports from politics, because sports are the reflection of peace and fair play,” said Marsis, who spent 35 years as respected sports writer in the country’s largest newspaper Kompas and biggest sports tabloid Bola.

    The organizers have prepared 80 torch bearers from big names in sports to top government officials to famous actresses.

    Among them are Susi Susanti and husband Alan Budikusumah, the gold medalists when badminton first became a medal event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic, top shuttler Taufik Hidayat, who is expected to defend his gold medal in the Athens Olympic, World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Chris John and the 1985 International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Ellyas Pical.

    Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo is also selected to become the runner carrying the torch. He will be accompanied by State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Adhyaksa Dault and Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.

    Former soccer player Tan Liong Houe is tipped to become the first runner, and the oldest as well at 76.

    The route spans between 8 and 9 kilometers and each torchbearer will run for 100 meters before handing it over to the next.

    ”The presence of the two ministers speaks volume about how we value the opportunity to host the torch relay,” said Marsis.

    Asked about his country’s chance, he smiled and replied: “we will be happy with one gold medal.”

    Indonesia continues to rely heavily on badminton, its only gold source since Barcelona.

    ”But the performance of the Indonesian badminton has been mediocre lately,” he said.

    The country’s first ever Olympic medal was a silver from archery in the 1988 Seoul Games and another non-badminton medal was a bronze from women’s weightlifting in Athens.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english

Add comment April 21st, 2008

Indonesia Tourism and Travel Fair hopes for $10m in deals

A group of tourism and travel industry associations will team up to hold what will be the country’s largest tourism and travel exhibition.

The exhibition, called the Indonesia Tourism and Travel Fair 2008, is expected to attract 10,000 local visitors and 150 foreign buyers. It is projected to secure a total of US$10 million in business transactions.

“The Indonesia Tourism and Travel Fair will be a place where industry players can showcase the rich variety of marketable tourism and culture sources,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said at the unveiling of the plan in Jakarta on Thursday.

Wacik said the fair would be supported by 300 participants and would exhibit a wide range of options for thematic holiday destinations, restaurants, accommodation, transport, investment, museums and many others.

The industry associations participating in the fair are the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents Association, the Indonesia Congress and Convention Association and the Indonesia National Air Carriers Association.

The fair, which will be held between Sept. 11 and 14, has the support of all tourism and travel authorities in the central and regional governments, as well as that of state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia Airways.

According to Wacik, the government is expecting to attract seven million foreign visitors this year, worth a total of $6.7 billion in foreign exchange.

“We are very optimistic about increasing the number of arrivals by 27 percent to seven million this year, from five and a half million last year, who brought in $4.45 billion,” he said.

The government said it would support the Indonesian tourism industry by holding promotional activities abroad, allowing more foreign airlines to land directly in Bali, issuing “visas on arrival” and preparing tourist destinations.

“In the travel and tourism industry, the private sector knows best which potential markets to target, while the government acts as the facilitator to support its growth,” he said, adding that good cooperation between players in the industry is essential.

The 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index released by the World Economic Forum ranks Indonesia as 80th out of 130 countries and urges the country to develop its tourism infrastructure to attract more international tourists. (rff)

Source: The Jakarta Post

Add comment April 21st, 2008