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PRESS RELEASE

Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission in China

Shanghai & Hangzhou, 16 & 18 May 2023

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (MOTCE) is delighted to hold Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission in China for the first time after more than three-years- Covid-related hiatus. The Sales Mission, which will be held in Shanghai on the 16th of May 2023 and Hangzhou on the 18th May 2023, fully supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Shanghai, Juneyao Airlines, Papatonk, Atlas Beach Fest Bali, aims to welcome back China tourists to Wonderful Indonesia.

"The re-opening of China borders is one of the moment that we have been waiting for and has brought back rays of optimism for global tourism, including Indonesia”, said Sandiaga Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.

“We are targeting not only to increase the number of Chinese tourists coming in, but also to increase the quality of the tourists, by means of increasing the length of stay, diversifying destinations to explore, and encouraging more spending”, Sandiaga added.

Earlier this month, there are swift and significant target changes on the 2023 Foreign Tourist Arrival to Indonesia from 7.4 million to 8.5 million foreign tourist visits, which also revised the Chinese tourist arrival target from 255,200 to 361,500. Hence, the Ministry c.q. Directorate of Tourism Marketing for Asia Pacific Regions, continues to strive the expansion of Indonesian tourism promotion program to include Familiarization Trip, Joint Promotion/ Collaborative Marketing with all stakeholders in Indonesia and abroad, and Sales Mission exclusively for the Chinese market.

Chinese tourists have been Indonesia’s tourism market focus since 2017. Prior to the COVID- 19 pandemic, China was one of the top contributors for Indonesia’s tourists’ arrivals. There were over 2 million Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia in 3 (three) consecutive years from 2017-2019. Chinese tourists were also the biggest overseas spenders before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data showed that Chinese’s averaged length of stay (LoS) in Indonesia were around 8 to 10.71 days, with the average spending per arrival (ASPA) reached $1.100 to $1.386.55. This figure is equivalent to the European tourists who are notable for their extravagant spending while traveling.

Meanwhile, Deputy for Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, also emphasized the importance of connectivity to accelerate the recovery of our tourism sector and to attract more Chinese tourists to the country. Currently we noted a total of 13 direct flight routes from 10 cities in China (Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Wenzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing) to Jakarta and Bali, with a total of 45 flight frequencies operated by 8 airlines from China to Indonesia, with the total seat capacity reaches 9.100 seats per week.

“Direct Flights would facilitate more Chinese Tourists’ visit to Indonesia, therefore we are making our best effort to increase number of direct flights which connects major cities in China with major cities in Indonesia and strongly encourage foreign airlines partners, like Juneyao Airlines, to open new routes to Indonesia and to fulfill passenger capacity, at least to pre-pandemic levels," Ni Made said.

Deputy Made also hopes that in the next phase, Chinese tourists will not only visit Bali. "We are pleased to invite Chinese travelers to add another island destination on their next visit, such as Labuan Bajo, Mandalika, Lombok, or Borobudur which are located not too far from Bali, through our 'Bali Add-on' campaign. This is a follow-up action to President Jokowi's directive to promote 5 Super Priority destinations in Indonesia", she added.

Furthermore, Director of Tourism Marketing for Asia Pacific Regions, Wisnu Sindhutrisno, explained that the number of Chinese tourists from January - March 2023 reached 113,404 or around 31% of the target. To achieve and exceed the target of 361,500 Chinese Tourist visits this year and to keep Wonderful Indonesia staying Top of Mind Chinese tourists, a collaborative approach must be implemented by public and private sector tourism stakeholders. Therefore, MOTCE collaborate with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Shanghai, Juneyao Airlines, Papatonk, Atlas Beach Fest Bali, to host this Sales Mission Program.

“This program is one of the direct, face to face, and promotional strategies between Sellers and Buyers to boost the arrival of more Chinese tourists. All these efforts are expected to restore the number of pre-pandemic state of Chinese tourist visits to Indonesia which reach up to 2.1 million”, Wisnu added.

The Sales Mission, which will be held at The Langham Xintiandi Shanghai on May 16th, 2023 and at the Courtyard by Marriott Hangzhou West on May 18th, 2023, proudly presents 10 highly curated sellers from various tourism businesses in Bali & Beyond, such as travel agents/ tour operators, hoteliers, cruise line, and tourist attractions, to connect with Chinese counterparts and promote the country’s readiness to accommodate Chinese tourists while enhancing the awareness of Wonderful Indonesia as a top-of-mind holiday destination.

Taking advantage of the momentum of Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission in China and following up on the cooperation MoU between MOTCE and VFS Global, there will be an opening of Wonderful Indonesia Corner (WIC) at VFS Global Shanghai Office on the 17th of May, 2023. This WIC will be the 2^nd one opened following the 1^st one which just launched recently at WAFI City Mall Dubai. Not only to promote Wonderful Indonesia splendid destinations through WIC, MOTCE is excited to be given access to a number of prospective business and potential partnership as well as news coverage in China through the collaboration with VFS Global.

For more information, please contact:

R. Wisnu Sindhutrisno (Mr.)

Director of Tourism Marketing for Asia Pacific Regions Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy,

Republic of Indonesia.

Sapta Pesona Building, 9^th Fl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 17 Jakarta, Indonesia, 10110.

Email : asiapacific@indonesia.travel