‘Indonesian Night’ a big hit with Jeddawis

JEDDAH: Indonesian Consul General Dharmakirty Syailendra Putra and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism organized a traditional and cultural night under the title “Indonesian Night” to celebrate the diversity of Indonesia.
The event took place at the residence of the consul general on Friday and featured Aceh’s colorful traditional Saman dance, Indonesian food and traditional Indonesian batik and kebaya clothes.
Putra welcomed the guests, diplomats and journalists on the occasion and said they organized the “Indonesian Night” to attract Saudi tourists and promote the country as a tourist destination.
“Tonight is a very important and interesting event, in the framework of exploring Indonesian cultural diversity and tourism. Indonesia with its natural beauty and hospitality is famous around world, including in Ƶ,” he said.
He said Indonesia is targeting 20 million arrivals by 2019 and is planning the biggest push for people from the Middle East. “I wish wonderful and memorable memories for everyone tonight,” he said.
Lalu Afzal, the head of tourism of Nusa Tenggara Barat Indonesia, said Ƶ contributes the most tourists from the Middle East visiting Indonesia. Based on foreign visit realization data of 2014, the number of Saudi visitors rose to around 27 percent or 147,074 visitors compared to that of 2013, with 115,912 visitors.
The positive trend of the increasing Saudi tourists also was seen from January-September 2015 period where Saudi tourists stood at 129,297, an increase of 4.67 percent compared to 2014.
He said the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia expects 9.5 million tourists in 2014 to increase to 20 million in the next five years. To accelerate achievement of this goal, Indonesia has recently waived visa requirements for 90 countries, including Ƶ. Indonesia has also recently issued the new Presidential Regulation No. 105-2015 to support maritime tourism. This new regulation does away with the process of Clearance Approval for Indonesia Territory (CAIT).
In another breakthrough by the Indonesian government, sea tourists may embark and disembark in five ports in Indonesia, namely Belawan-Medan (North Sumatra), Tanjung Priok-Jakarta, Tanjung Perak-Surabaya (East Java), Benoa-Bali, Soekarno-Hatta, and Makassar.
Indonesia’s position in international tourism is becoming more established. The country ranks in 20th place in the biennial Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report this year.
He explained that Lombok in the West Nusa Tenggara Province, next to Bali, won two awards: World’s Best Halal Tourism Destination and the World’s Best Halal Honeymoon Destination. Along with Lombok, Indonesia’s Sofyan Hotel Group was also successful in winning the World’s Best Family-friendly Hotel award.
Lombok with its natural green scenery, beautiful beaches and Muslim community is the best destination for Saudis and people from the Middle East to visit. The island contains thousands of mosques and offers products which are Shariah compliant.