TravTalk India Online Magazine
The Badung Tourism Promotions Board, Indonesia, has trained its eyes on India for this. The appointment of an India representative shows its commitment to the market.
Hazel Jain
The Badung Regency of Bali in Indonesia has increased its focus on India and will be putting in extra efforts to develop it as a bigger source market than it already is. The region was the highlight of the Indonesian India Sales Mission 2017 that kick-started in Mumbai recently with sellers only from Badung participating in it. Sellers from the rest of Indonesia joined in for the rest of the five cities: Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Chandigarh.
Apart from participating in the sales mission, the Badung Regency has also appointed an India representative – New Delhi-based Air Guru Travel Solutions – to promote the destination. Dhiraj Kumar, Managing Director, Air Guru Travel Solutions, is now an ‘Honorary Representative for Badung Regency Bali’ appointed by BPPD Badung Tourism Promotions Board, Indonesia. He says, “We will conduct destination updates, regular training for local travel agents and other promotional activities in key cities. We have signed a 3-year contract effective July 31, 2017.”
The agenda of this sales mission, as underlined by Vinsensius Jemadu, Director, Asia Pacific Tourism Promotions, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia, who was leading the Indonesian delegation, was to develop 10 more ‘Balis’ with the idea of promoting newer destinations in Indonesia for Indian travellers. “We are trying to push Bali as the hub from where travellers can visit other destinations. We have etched out three key pillars as our strategy. One is to go digital to disseminate information about Indonesia. Two is to develop quality homestays as it is quicker than building hotels, and three, to push air connectivity between India and Indonesia,” he says. Jemadu adds that they aim to welcome 500,000 Indian tourists this year, which would mean a 20 per cent growth for them.
