AAC EXPECTED TO BOOST INDONESIA'S TOURISM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 14 (Antara) - Besides fostering solidarity among Asian and African countries, the 60th anniversary events of the Asian-African Conference (AAC) in Jakarta and Bandung from April 19 to 24, 2015, is also expected to boost Indonesia's tourism.          Indonesia's tourism industry will gain from the meetings that will be held throughout the event as the country will be in the center of the world's attention.          Moreover, some 1,000 mass media representatives, including foreigners, will cover the events.          During the conference, Indonesia can also promote its tourism branding "Wonderful Indonesia" and its MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) programs.          Organizers have been asked to adorn the airport of Bandung, the provincial capital that hosted the first AAC in 1955, with flowers and make it more attractive.            After a meeting with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla at Gedung State in Bandung on Monday, Bandung Mayor M. Ridwan Kamil told journalists that Kalla has directed the organizers to enhance the aesthetic appeal of Husein Sastranegara International Airport complex by adorning it with more flowers ahead of the 60th commemoration of the AAC.          "The request is in line with Bandung's ambition to be the City of Flowers," Ridwan Kamil added.          The Bandung airport will be closed to commercial flights for two days on April 23 and 24 to accommodate VIP planes carrying delegates to the ACC.          Therefore, commercial flight operators will stop their services for the time being. AirAsia airlines, for example, has decided to cancel its services to and from Husein Sastranegara airport for two days.          "Commercial flights to Bandung will be temporarily suspended on April 23 and 24, 2015," Head of Corporate Secretary and Communications AirAsia Indonesia Audrey Progastama Petriny said in a press statement on Monday.          According to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, the anniversary commemoration of the Asian-African Conference will serve as an important event to boost the Indonesian tourism sector.          On the sidelines of the conference, a number of exhibitions will be organized to promote various local products. Some of the activities will see a blend of business and tourism interests, and they will be attended by the Asian-African Business Summit (AABS) with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), Working Lunch Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with the coordinating minister for maritime affairs in Jakarta.          There will also be a Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta, Asia-Africa Meet, and Bandung 1955 Photography Exhibition in Bandung.           At the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), a photo and documentation collection exhibition on the 1955 AAC will give delegates an idea of the atmosphere and conditions of past events.          "The National Archive Team has a lot of documents that will take audiences back to the 1960s era. The documents will allow delegates to glimpse black-and-white (images), white clothes, the Merdeka Building, general atmosphere at the conference, and cars used by the delegates," the tourism minister stated.          The exhibition will allow delegates attending the conference to rejuvenate themselves and watch documentations on the AAC in 1955, activities of the South-South Cooperation, and browse through typical Indonesian handicraft products.          "Several themes have been chosen for the exhibition. The South-South Cooperation, a Triangular Exhibition, and the Indonesian Heritage Exhibition, which will showcase Indonesia's cultural heritage products such as batik, woven fabric, silver, jewelry, premium handicraft products, and various souvenirs are a few of the chosen themes. They aim to promote creative products that reflect Indonesia's cultural heritage," the minister pointed out.          The Tourism Ministry will hold the 'South-South Cooperation Exhibition' at the Jakarta Convention Center as a light event for delegates attending to hectic schedules.     "The program will serve as a relaxing event for participants of the AAC anniversary celebrations," Minister Yahya noted.          He added that all occasions throughout the conference, as well as events on its sidelines, will be serious affairs. So, delegates will be provided with a corner where they can relax during activities from April 19 to 24.          The other events that will be held in Bandung will be a performance by 20,000 'Angklung' players for the Guinness Book of World Records and the Festival of Nations along Dago road in Bandung.          More than 1,000 mass media representatives, including foreign ones, will cover the events that will enable the Indonesian tourism industry to gain as the country will be in the center of the world's attention.          "At the same time, we will organize various side events to promote the country's tourism objects, culture, and creative economy," Minister Yahya stressed.          Minister Yahya said the ACC event is set to promote the tourism brand, "Wonderful Indonesia."     Speaking to the press on Monday, Yahya stated a program will be organized by Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on April 21 as one of the events to mark the AAC.          "This activity will be very strategic as an effort to build the bridge of cooperation, synergy, and mutual connection among maritime states, which have placed the marine tourism sector as one of the engines of their national economic growth," he explained.          The SIDS member states include  Bahamas, Cuba, Fiji, Jamaica, Maldives, Mauritius, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Suriname, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, Haiti, Dominica, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Comoros, Seychelles, Bahrain, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, and Barbuda.          Minister Yahya added that to develop Batam tourism, Indonesia needs the support of neighboring Singapore, which has been successful in connecting countries from the Western to Eastern Hemispheres and from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.         "Tourists from elsewhere in the world who are holidaying in Singapore can easily take ferries to Batam and Bintan where they can enjoy marine scenery and white sand coasts," he said.          The minister observed that most tourists travel to Maldives (Atlantic), Malta, Palma de Majorca (Mediterranean Sea), Saint Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean Islands), Hawaii (Pacific), and other small islands states for sea, sand, sun, and blue skies.         To incorporate Indonesia into their lists of tourism destinations, the country will need strong branding and magnet, he added.***3*** (T.A014/INE) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/B/BESSR/A/A. Abdussalam) 14-04-2015 21:12