TravTalk India Online Magazine
Visit Indonesia Tourism Office in India recently concluded its Sales Mission in New Delhi to thank travel partners for their support. In 2018, the tourism board is introducing newer destinations beyond Bali.
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Till October 2017, Indonesia recorded 396,000 Indian visitors to the destination, registering a 25 per cent YOY growth in 2017, informs Sanjay Sondhi, Country Manager, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office—India. He points out that even though the airport at Bali was closed briefly due to volcanic activities, the confidence is back among travellers as the destination has started receiving tourists. “We want to thank our travel partners for their continued support through the times of crisis and in building the confidence to travel to Bali. We hope to reach our target of 460,000 Indian tourists by the end of season. We are hoping to add on newer segments like Bollywood tourism in the coming year. The MICE travel segment also did very well and we hope to continue the same trend in 2018,” he says.
The MICE travel segment also did very well and we hope to continue the same trend in 2018
Sondhi further points out that there has been an increase in the length of stay of Indian guests from five nights to six nights and more. “With the introduction of more destinations beyond Bali, we are hoping to extend the duration of stay to up to 8-9 nights. Bali remains to be the most sought after destination amongst Indians where a 3-4 nights package is common. However, in 2018, we are hoping that travel agents can introduce 3-4 additional nights to newer destinations like Lombok, Flores, Komodo Dragon Island, Jakarta, etc. in their itineraries,” he adds.
In 2018, we will be the first carrier to offer a direct service to Indonesia from Mumbai
Visit Indonesia’s marketing strategy for 2018 is to go digital to drive the demand through consumer activities. The tourism board also conducted a consumer promotion activity at the Select City Walk Mall in New Delhi to increase visibility of the destination in the consumer market. Talking about connectivity, Sondhi comments, “At the moment, there is no direct connectivity between India and Indonesia though technical hauls exist through Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. However, Garuda Indonesia has recently announced the induction of a new aircraft to their fleet and may put it into service on Mumbai-Denpasar direct connection in the first quarter of 2018.”
Garuda Indonesia has big plans for the Indian market in 2018. The airline is planning to introduce a direct service between the two countries to cater to the demand and also increase the number of Indian tourist arrivals to the destination. Pradeep Chauhan, Assistant GM, Garuda Indonesia, says, “Subject to government approval, in 2018, we will be the first carrier to offer a direct service to Indonesia from Mumbai in India and hopefully at a later stage, we’ll also consider flights from Delhi to Indonesian sectors.”
