BALI AND BEYOND TRAVEL FAIR TO OFFER ONE-STOP TOURISM SHOP by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 13, 2016 (Antara)- Hundreds of sellers and buyers from many countries are expected to meet in the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) 2016 which is to be held at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Badung District, Bali, on June 22-26 this year.

        The Third BBTF to be theme "Where The World Comes to Meet", has been viewed as being an efficient platform since travel buyers and sellers will be able to meet during a single event that will display tourism-related services such as hotels, resorts, new and rare tourism destinations, restaurants, and travel operators.

         Therefore, it is no wonder that Venture Holidays' Director Ian Garrit of Australia, has expressed his enthusiasm to participate in the travel fair.

         Garrit, in his letter quoted by Chairman of the BBTF Organizing Committee Ketut Ardana, recently said that he is looking forward to not only signing contracts with the existing buyers for the period between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018, but would also learning new products to be offered in the fair for the coming years.

        The fair is expected to lure foreign buyers including travel operators from Australia, to participate and obtain firsthand information on travel products to be offered during the event.

         "We continue to expand the Australian market segment, although it has existed since a long time," Ardana stated in Denpasar, Bali, on February 10.

         At least 132 foreign buyers have confirmed their participation in the  BBTF 2016. The buyers are from South Korea, the United States, Australia,  countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. 
    Ten prospective buyers belonging to the platinum category have confirmed their participation. They include Mappamondo, TUI,  Airtours, Thomas Cook and Orient Tours, according to Tanto Ruwiyadi, vice chairman of BBTF 2016,
    "The number of platinum buyers will likely increase as the registration is still open," Ardana stated.

          Platinum buyers are world-class travel bureaus that could send more than 10 thousand foreign tourists to Bali annually.         
     He said that 17 platinum buyers had taken part in the second BBTF in 2015.

         The BBTF organizing committee has targeted to attract at least 275 tourism operators as buyers and 225 domestic travel agents as sellers.

        The committee has urged Indonesia's embassies to help promote the Fair overseas.

        Ardana is optimistic that the Fair will not be affected by the terror attack that hit Jakarta last month.

         Most of travel operators have good understanding of the conducive situation on Bali Island, thanks to the security measures taken by the provincial authorities.

         Several buyers did ask few questions concerning security, but they were still normal, he added.

        However, he urged the security personnel to maintain intensive security measures because tourism is very sensitive to security issues.     
    He invited Indonesian businessmen engaged in hotels, restaurants, and MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) activities to take part in the fair and showcase their potential to the buyers.    
   The annual BBTF was held for the first time on June 10-13, 2014 and booked business transactions amounting to Rp6 trillion. The second BBTF in 2015 recorded business transactions worth Rp9.4 trillion.

         The BBTF  promotes  not only the famous tourist resorts in Bali, but also those in other Indonesian regions such as Papua, Yogyakarta, Padang, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Sulawesi and Sumatera.

        This year, there will be a new addition to the agenda which will include a series of post tours arranged by the Ministry of Tourism for buyers and media representatives.

        Several  tourism related talk shows as well as speedy networking sessions between platinum buyers and sellers will also be organized.

        Justina Puspawati, Executive Director of BBTF 2016, explained speedy networking will ensure that all sellers have the opportunity to exchange business cards and quickly introduction their respective companies to high potential buyers.  The fair is expected to support the government to achieve the set target to attract 20 million tourists annually by 2019.

         China, Australia, India, and the Middle East countries have been identified as some of the potential markets besides European countries and the United States.

         The Bali Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recorded a total of 4.001 million foreign tourist arrivals during 2015, up 6.24 percent from 3.76 million recorded in the previous year.

          For 2016, the Bali Tourism Office has set the target for foreign tourist arrivals at the world-renowned tourist island at 4.2 million, at least.

       The tourism office has also set the target of domestic tourists visiting the resort island for 2016 at 7.8 million.

        The Indonesian government hopes to generate foreign exchange amounting to Rp172 trillion from 12 million foreign tourist arrivals and Rp223.6 trillion from 260 million domestic tourists this year. ***1***
(f001/INE     )
(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 13-02-2016 17:53:24