From 22-27 January, ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2024 provided a platform for leading tourism operators, government officials and buyers to connect and shape the future of international tourism in the region. For Indonesia, the event proved to be a valuable opportunity to secure new business deals, expand collaborative networks and outline plans for the year ahead.
Held at the Lao ITECC Exhibition Centre in Vientiane, Laos, ATF 2024 set out to – in the words of the official event website – “strengthen collaboration, (improve) tourism products (and) attract more international tourists.” The forum featured several events designed to deliver these aims, including the Ministerial and Bilateral meetings, held at the Landmark Hotel; and the TRAVEX, hosted at the Lao ITEC Exhibition Hall. The TRAVEX in particular allowed suppliers of tourism products and services to connect with buyers from around the world.
Attendees at these events included representatives from various ASEAN National Tourism Organization (NTOs); ASEAN tourism, travel and tourism hospitality professionals; leading hotels and accommodation experts; travel agents and operators; and members of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sub-sector.
The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy brought a total of 13 representatives to TRAVEX 2024, comprising a mix of tour operators and travel agents from around the country. Together, they forged new partnerships and promoted a wide range of attractions, including Borobudur temple, which is one of Indonesia’s Super Priority Tourism Destinations; and Candirejo Tourism Village in Magelang, Central Java.
Thanks in part to the attractiveness of these tourism locations, ATF 2024 proved to be a fruitful experience for the Indonesian delegation, who secured business to business (B2B) transactions totalling IDR 41 billion (US$ 2.6 million) at TRAVEX. This outstripped all expectations for the event – the Indonesian government had previously set a target of IDR 22 billion (US$ 1.3 million).
“The total achievement has been recorded with transactions of more than IDR 41 billion and 19,713 packages ordered,” said the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, at the Lao ITECC Exhibition Centre in Laos, last Friday (26/1). “We are bringing this good news back to Indonesia to encourage us that we can not only achieve the target of 14.3 million foreign tourist visits this year, but exceed it significantly,” added the minister.
