Dr Hasiyanna Ashadi and Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Deddy Saiful Hadi at the event.
By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Indonesia is wooing Qatar’s residents to visit its capital city, which offers a variety of tourism packages for travellers from the Gulf region.
During a roadshow called “Enjoy Jakarta” yesterday, promotion director Cucu Ahmad Kurnia told reporters that fewer than 1,000 locals from Qatar visit the Southeast Asian city annually.
“That is the reason why we launched this roadshow. We want to establish linkages and do networking between tourism stakeholders from Qatar and Jakarta,” he said.
A short cultural show by Indonesian performers was held before the start of the press briefing.
In his presentation, he noted that about 2mn foreign tourists have visited Jakarta. Travellers from Malaysia topped the number of visitors followed by China, Japan and Singapore.
Based on the records of Jakarta City Government Tourism and Culture Office, the number of people - including locals - who visited the city last year totaled about 30mn.
Cucu said they are planning to launch a number of tourism programmes, roadshows and cultural performances in Qatar next year. These include organising traditional events such as Indonesian culinary programmes that showcase the talents of their local chefs.
While Thailand is known for medical tourism, Indonesia’s top attractions include golf (courses) and shopping malls. Besides 30 golf courses, Jakarta also has 274 conservation and historical buildings featuring astounding architectural designs.
Tourism officials and stakeholders also hold 47 international music events annually.
The city alone has 170 shopping centres that house various international brands, offering products that range from the high-end to affordable. Tourists can dine in the many restaurants that serve international and local cuisines. They can also stay in the 108-island heritage area to experience “sun, sand and sea” adventures, including water sports and fishing.
“The Jakarta tourism sector will continue to grow rapidly and become a lucrative business area,” said Arie Budiman, head of the culture and tourism office of Jakarta, in a press statement.
Dr Hasiyanna Ashadi, chairperson of the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies, said an average tour package costs around $1,400 with airfare and accommodation for 4-5 days.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Deddy Saiful Hadi welcomed the “Indonesian Trade and Investment Update (ITIU) 2013” delegation yesterday at Hilton Doha.
It included 17 business delegates, including the mayor of South Halmahera, Dr Mohamed Hasan Kasuba. Chayo Purnomo from the Indonesian Investment Promotion Centre in Abu Dhabi briefed participants about the overall situation related to investing in Indonesia.
Some 15 Qatari businessmen and representatives from the Qatar Chamber of Commerce attended the trade meet.
In his speech, Hadi noted that the total trade between the two countries has increased from $649mn in 2010 to $683mn in 2011. It further rose to $1.68bn in 2012. He believes that bilateral and trade relations between Indonesia and Qatar will continue to grow.
“The Indonesian embassy is committed to providing some sort of platform to both parties - Indonesian and Qatari businessmen - to meet and engage with each other and explore any possible co-operation in future,” he added.
1 Some of the participants of the roadshow.
