SEA GAMES EXPECTED TO PROMOTE RI TOURISM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 13 (ANTARA) - The on-going 26th Southeast Asian Games is expected to help promote Indonesia's tourism, particularly the tourism development in Jakarta and Palembang which  host the region's biggest sport events from November 11 to 22, 2011.          Indonesia is hosting the 26th SEA Games where  296 sport branches are be competed in Palembang and the other 266 branches in Jakarta.      The foreign athletes, officials and supporters will automatically become tourists who at a certain occasion would be potential to return to Indonesia as tourists     "The big event of this scale is effective in attracting more tourists to Indonesia. Those who come to Indonesia are not only athletes but also their supporters," Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu said on Saturday.          The activities will also develop the creative economic sector and promote the country's culture and tourism in the wide sense.          "Creative industry will develop significantly through sports events of this kind," the minister said.           The same view was also expressed by the home affairs promotion director of the Tourism and Creative Economic Ministry Muhammad Faried said. "This event will be a very effective tourism promotion media,"  Muhammad Faried said.           The minister said that the arrivals of many visitors to Jakarta and Palembang as the hosts of the SEA Games should be taken as an advantageous opportunity to promote Indonesia's tourism.          Mari Elka Pangestu said that the biggest Southeast Asian Games were effective in promoting the Indonesian tourism while developing the creative economic sector.          The turnover of the MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition) sector like those of hotels and meeting convention halls will also be boosted during the SEA Games events.          During the events, athletes, officials and supporters from various countries in Southeast Asia, or even from the world, will visit Indonesia to witness the games.          After the games, they could also become international tourists who at another time to come would return to Indonesia.          Therefore, the minister said her office was determined to make use of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in the two places of Jakarta and Palembang as one of the country's means of tourism promotion.          The provincial administrations of Jakarta and South Sumatra will offer several tourism packages for the athletes namely the Palembang city tour and four Jakarta tourism packages.          In Palembang,  some of the tourism events which enliven the SEA Games are among others the Sriwijaya International Expo, Arts & Culture and Film Week 2011. Besides, the events could also promote South Sumatra's  traditional 'songket' dresses.         "There are many ways of promoting cultures such as making use of the current SEA Games to promote the Palembang songket," Tourism and Creative Economic Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said when she visited the songket production center in Tanggabuntung area, South Sumatra, on Saturday.          The minister asked 'songket' dress producers to make use of the on-going SEA Games as a means of promoting Palembang's cultures such as its 'songket' dresses.          She cited Palembang as an example where noted producers of local traditional 'songket' dress, like Zainal Songket and Fikri Collection in the Tanggabuntu songket production center, were expected to be flooded by orders.          "Zainal is convinced his turnover would jump up to 300 percent during the SEA Games while Fikri predicts his business could increase 75 percent," Mari said.          In the meantime, the Jakarta regional administration, which co-host SEA Games, also offered tourism packages. The tourism packages which will be offered for the athletes are the free-of-charge city tours to the Old Town, the National Monument and the Indonesia in Miniature Park. Apart from that, the athletes will also have opportunities for shopping at famous shopping malls.          Therefore, the Jakarta Administration hoped that SEA Games XXVI athletes who came to the Indonesian capital city would enjoy their visits like in line with Jakarta's tourism slogan: "Enjoy Jakarta".          "We are having good coordination in order to turn Jakarta as a friendly host which serves hospitality, provides security while the people and government give their best services. We hope that the SEA Games athletes would  enjoy their visits in  Jakarta," Sukesti Martono, assistant to the Jakarta governor for cultural and tourism affairs said.           Sukesti said the SEA Games would boost the tourism activities, including the business activities of hotels, culinary businesses and recreation centers in Jakarta.          "This is a chance for Jakarta to serve delegations from the ASEAN countries, not only their athletes but also their officials and supporters. This is a good chance to increase economic activities," Sukesti said.          The SEA Games is participated in by thousands of athletes from 11 countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Indonesia as the host.          Indonesia has several times hosted the Sea Games, namely the 10th Sea Games in 1979, the 15th Sea Games in 1987 and the 19th Sea Games in 1997.  ***5*** (T.A014/A/H-NG/11:30   ) 13-11-2011 11:37:3

SEA GAMES XXVI ALSO BOON FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 8 (ANTARA) - Realizing that the South East Asian Games  (SEA Games)  in Indonesia next  November is  also a potential market for small-scale enterprises,  the games' organizing committee has offered to cooperate with them for mutual benefit.          Indonesia is making preparations to host the 26th Southeast Asian Gemas (SEA Games) where 10 countries from the region are expected to compete in 44 sports branches  and vie for the 454 gold medals at stake from November 11 to 22, 2011.          The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Inasoc)  and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) therefore agreed to cooperate in order to popularize the sports events and promote  small businesses in the country    "With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), we hope that the small businesses will be boosted evenly and the sports event can be promoted in various regions throughout the country," Kadin chairman for International Tourism, Arts and Sports Promotion Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono said after the signing of the cooperation     Therefore, both sides agreed to invite small industries to jointly produce souvenirs for the  biennial sports event that will be held on November 11-22, 2011 in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra.          "We hope to reap a profit of Rp50 billion from the sale of souvenirs throughout Indonesia. In Jakarta and Palembang, we hope the two hosts will earn Rp10 billion respectively," Iman Arif, Kadin chairman for sports development said.          He said that the souvenirs would be offered to state firms, hotels, tourist regions and the Kadin offices in the country's 33 provinces.          "In this cooperation, we are determined to play active roles in facilitating and opening communications with all stakeholders of the national sports," said Iman.          According to Ira Hermawan Bagus of Inasoc  at least 10 small firms in Jakarta, Bogor and Bandung were now in cooperation in the production of at least 20 types of souvenirs such as shirts, hats, bags and key holders.          Iman said that Indonesia should develop its sports industry potentials during the SEA Games events because Indonesia's position as host was beneficial.          Besides souvenirs, cooperation will also be carried out in the form of cultural activities such as a torch relay event.          Ibas, as Edhie Baskoro intimately called, said Kadin hoped the SEA Games would be able to generate the national economic development, particularly the development of economy in the regions.           "This is not only a matter of sports, the SEA Games event is an opportunity to develop other economic sectors like services industry, accommodation, restaurants and entertainment," Ibas said.          In the meantime, Inasoc Chairperson Rita Subowo said the success of the SEA Games would be measured with the empowerment of handicraftsmen in the production of souvenirs.           "We need promotion through the sales of souvenirs. That was why we asked Kadin to disseminate the souvenirs to 33 provinces in the country," Rita said.          Besides souvenirs, Kadin and the Inasoc will also hold cultural nights in eight cities during the torch relay procession. The eight cities that will host the cultural nights are Purwodadi and Magelang (Borobudur) , Semarang , Kupang , Jayapura , Makassar , Balikpapan , Jakarta  and Palembang.          The SEA Games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra. South Sumatra's Industry and Trade Service official said the establishment of bazaar stands at the SEA Games' athlete home.          "We are proposing the establishment of a bazaar stand within the complex of the SEA Games athletes," Head of South Sumatra?s Industry and Trade Service Eppy Mirza. The stands are to be designed for athletes staying the athlete complex so that they could shop there.          He said, in conjunction with  the SEA Games, there would be exhibitions at hotels in Jakabaring. The Sriwijaya International Expo would accommodate  a total of  500 stands to be occupied by  participants from ASEAN and other countries which were invited.         It had the target to be visited by 30 thousand visitors. Each visitor was expected to spend Rp1 million for meals and souvenirs.          SEA Games XXV in Vientiane, Laos, was also used as an opportunity for small businesses to sell their goods. Just outside the venues there were  stands selling shirts and other souvenirs. SEA Games XXVI in Indonesia next November will be held in Jakarta and Palembang. Palembang will host 21 sports branches while the other branches will played out in Jakarta.           SEA Games XXVI will be comprised of the following 44 sport branches  1.Aquatics, 2. Archery, 3. Athletics, 4. Badminton, 5. Baseball, 6. Basketball, 7. Billiards & Snooker, 8. Bowling, 9. Boxing, 10. Bridge, 11. Canoeing, 12. Chess, 13. Cycling, 14. Equestrian, 15. Fencing, 16. Fin Swimming, 17. Football, 18. Futsal, 19. Golf, 20. Gymnastics, 21. Judo, 22. Karate, 23. Paragliding, 24. Pencak Silat, 25. Petanque, 26. Roller Sports, 27. Rowing, 28. Sailing, 29. Sepaktakraw, 30. Shorinji Kempo, 31. Shooting, 32. Softball, 33. Soft Tennis, 34. Table Tennis, 35. Taekwondo, 36. Tennis, 37. Traditional Boat Race, 38. Volleyball, 39. Vovinam, 40. Wall Climbing ,41. Water Ski, 42. Weightlifting, 43. Wrestling, and 44. Wushu.***6*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/23:50/H-YH) 08-10-2011 23:32:0

INDONESIA GEARING UP TO HOST SEA GAMES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta July 17 (AMTARA) - Indonesia is making preparations to host the 26th Southeast Asian Gemas (SEA Games) where 10 countries from the region are expected to compete in 44 branches of sports and  vie for 454 gold medals at stake from November 11 to 22, 2011.       The sports affairs minister called on all sport executives to prepare the athletes to be fielded in next November's SEA Games in the best ways possible so that their performance targets would be achieved.          "Executives of all sports branches must prepare their athletes based on their programs to ensure their readiness to face the SEA Games," Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng said after attending a SEA Games 2011 roll call at the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Jakarta recently.           He said Indonesia must really be ready to show its best performance in Southeast Asia's biggest event, whose organizing would need at least a fund of Rp2 trillion or about 232 million dollars.           "The central government, the municipal government and sponsors must chip in to ensure that the event is a success," Andi said.          Andi and other officials -including Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare Agung Laksono and Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chairwoman Rita Subowo-  have made an inspection of the complex that will house the city's venues for  SEA Games in Palembang, one of the host cities of the event besides Jakarta.          The cost to construct and renovate the games' facilities in Palembang alone is estimated to reach Rp738 billion. The Sports Ministry has only asked the central government to foot Rp250 billion of that bill.          "We are still discussing funding. If we can't get more funding, we will find other sources including from sponsors," South Sumatra Governor Alex Nurdin said.          In order to host the vents, Indonesia has to accelerate its preparations. For this purpose, the technical delegates of the 44 sports branches will meet in Jakarta on July 25.          Sources at the SEA Games Secretariat said here on Saturday that some of the delegates have arrived in Jakarta and observed some venues to be used during the events. The delegates will observe various venues of the Southeast Asian sports competitions in Jakarta and in Palembang, capital of South Sumatra province. The SEA Games events will be held in these two cities.          The efforts to accelerate preparations of the biennial events were supported by the Indonesia SEA Games XXVI Committee (Inasoc).          "We need to accelerate preparations for the Southeast Asian games because we are racing against time,"  Inasoc Chairman Rachmat Gobel said in a coordination meeting here over the weekend.          He said that he appreciated all sides that supported the speeding up of preparations but all should be under the coordination of Inasoc so that overlapping would not take place.          Preparations are going on under the coordination of the Inasco in Jakarta and in South Sumatra (two cities that will co-host the events). Rachmat said coordination should be carried out between organizers in Jakarta and those in South Sumatra including the putting up of banners, billboards and other SEA Games symbols.          "The installations of various SEA Games attributes should remain under the coordination of Inasoc so that they will remain in order," he said.          Various banners and other SEA Games attributes have been installed in various corners of Jakarta and Pelembang, capital of South Sumatra province.          In the meantime, the committee is still running short of field officers to cater various activities in the field. The committee is therefore recruiting volunteers for this purpose. Up to Sunday, it had only succeeded to net 761 volunteers and still lacked about 3,000 field officials.          "Actually, the number of applicants we received for last week selections reached 7,000 but many of them did not show up during the selection process, maybe because it was held during holidays," Iansco chairman for human resources Pusparani HC Hakim said here over the weekend.           She said that the committee would also cooperate with a number of universities in seeking volunteers such as the University of Indonesia, the University of Pancasila, the University of Pelita Harapan, the London School of Public Relations and a number of other campuses.           "We will also cooperate with tourism schools recommended by the ministry of tourism. We hope that would be able to meet the need for volunteers," she said.           Those who have passed last week's selection will begin to be assigned at the technical meeting of the SEA Games which will be held on July 25, 2011.          The 44 branches of sports  will be competed in Jakarta and Palembang on November 11-22, 2011 are 1.Aquatics, 2. Archery, 3. Athletics, 4. Badminton,  5. Baseball, 6. Basketball, 7. Billiards & Snooker, 8. Bowling, 9. Boxing, 10. Bridge, 11. Canoeing, 12. Chess, 13. Cycling, 14. Equestrian, 15. Fencing, 16. Fin Swimming, 17. Football, 18. Futsal, 19. Golf, 20. Gymnastics, 21. Judo, 22. Karate, 23. Paragliding, 24. Pencak Silat, 25. Petanque, 26. Roller Sports, 27. Rowing, 28. Sailing, 29. Sepaktakraw, 30. Shorinji Kempo, 31. Shooting, 32. Softball, 33. Soft Tennis, 34. Table Tennis, 35. Taekwondo, 36. Tennis, 37. Traditional Boat Race, 38. Volleyball, 39. Vovinam, 40. Wall Climbing ,41. Water Ski, 42. Weightlifting, 43. Wrestling, and 44. Wushu. ***6*** (T.A014/A/H-NG/F001) 17-07-2011 14:00: