Indonesia Joins Tourism Exhibition in Moscow

Moscow, MINA – Indonesia participated in the largest tourist exhibition on the Russian 26th Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (MITT) in Moscow which has been opened on 12-14 March 2019, in order attract the flow of Russian tourists coming to Indonesia.

At the exhibition, Indonesia through the Ministry of Tourism appeared with a 70 m2 pavilion that was representative and attracted the attention of visitors, as the press statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow received by MINA, Saturday.

The Wonderful Indonesia Pavilion presented photos of Indonesian tourism destinations. The special appearance of Malang Carnival costumes and some Indonesian regional dances were the main attraction for visitors.

In addition, the visitors could also enjoy coffee from various regions in Indonesia which were specially presented by Indonesian baristas.

The total of 11 Indonesian industries attended the exhibition. They offered tourist destinations and tour packages in Indonesia, as well as developing work partners with Russia or business meetings.

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According to Agus Setiawan, Head of Area IV (Europe IV) Marketing of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia’s activity in various tourism promotion activities in Russia, such as MITT, Festival Indonesia and Otdykh Leisure is expected to further increase foreign tourists visiting Indonesia.

He said with various effort, the target of 160,000 visitors of Russian tourists to Indonesia in 2019 was expected to be acceptable.

“MITT with the number of Destination Management Companies and wholesalers is expected to be able to sell more tour packages to Indonesia,” said Agus Setiawan.

MITT is one of the biggest exhibitions in Russia that held annually to offer packages and tourist destinations, specifically for summer holidays in Europe, including Russia.

MITT 2019 was attended by more than 1,800 companies from 54 countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Egypt, Greece, Qatar, Turkey and Italy.

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Russia as a potential tourist market with many Russian citizens traveling abroad, including vacation.

According to the Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR), which replaces the data of the Russian FSB Border Service, in 2018 more than 44.5 million Russians traveled abroad, 1.22 million trips in Thailand, and 556 thousand trips to Vietnam.

The number of Russian trips abroad in 2018 was up to 6.1% from 2017.

Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, in 2018 Russian tourists to Indonesia amounted to 125.697 people, up to 6.95% from 2017 reached 117.532 people.

Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation concurrently to the Republic of Belarus, M. Wahid Supriyadi, said various efforts were made by Indonesia to further increase the flow of Russian tourists to Indonesia.

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The effort started from a vigorous promotion, until there was direct from Russia to Indonesia.

According to Ambassador Wahid, what is encouraging in the past three years is that the number of Russian tourists to Indonesia has increased by an average of 12%.

He explained in February 2019, 12.517 Russian citizens visited Indonesia, up to 24.4% from the same period in 2017 and the highest in Europe. Despite it increased, the number of Russian tourists to Indonesia was still not optimal.

“And now, there is a Russian launch that has made a direct fly from Moscow to Bali. “It is hoped that in the near future, Garuda Indonesia will start launching directly in Bali-Moscow,” Ambassador Wahid said.

Ambassador Wahid believes this direct flight will further boost the flow of Russian tourists to Indonesia and send tropical fruits to Russia. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)