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Wonderful Indonesia recently received yet another recognition when it was named The Best Destination Marketing 2016 by Travel Weekly Asia. Presented during the Honorarium the Best in Travel Industry event, held on 17th October 2016 at the Mandarin Orchard, Singapore, the Award was handed personally by the President of Northstar Travel Group, Robert G Sullivan to the Assistant Deputy for International Marketing , ASEAN Region, Ms. Rizki Handayani Mustafa on behalf of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism, Arief Yahya.
“Thank you Travel Weekly Asia! This is indeed a heart-warming achievement. The brand Wonderful Indonesia has received appreciation across the world. What has made this special is that it is now widely recognized how Indonesia has marketed our destinations, that has been truly very effective” stated Rizki Handayani.
And, what has caused the Destination Marketing of Wonderful Indonesia to receive such positive response from Travel Weekly Asia’s readers? Following the strategy as outlined by Tourism Minister Arief Yahya they are: Firstly, the intense promotional strategy on Branding-Advertising-Selling (BAS) which has been implemented during 2015 to mid 2016 that has significantly raised the Wonderful Indonesia brand worldwide. Data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) revealed that in its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index rated among the top 144 countries, Indonesia jumped from NA (Not available) to rank 47.
Secondly, Indonesia’s marketing continues to be focused on destinations that are ready with the 3A (Attraction, Accessibility, Amenity) elements. This is the reason why in the first year, marketing was focused on the 3 main international gateways which are Bali, Jakarta, and the Riau Islands (Batam-Bintan). This was subsequently followed by intense promotion and marketing of the 10 new priority destinations that together are aimed to attract 20 million international tourists by 2019.
Thirdly are Deregulation policies affecting tourism sectors so as facilitate arrivals of visitors to the country. These are : first and foremost the issuance of Free Visa for tourists fo Indonesia to 169 countries. Second, the removal of cabotage regulations affecting cruise ships to enable foreign cruise ships to embark and disembark passengers at designated Indonesian ports. The 5 seaports assigned are: Belawan in Medan, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Benoa in Bali, and Makassar. Other deregulation made was in the Clearance Approval for yachts to enter Indonesian Territorial waters (CAIT) which in the past took 3 weeks to process, today regulations have been much reduced so that the process takes just a couple of days.
