'Wonderful Indonesia' Sets Its Tourism Sights on Singapore
Jakarta. Indonesia is working to charm Singaporeans into visiting the archipelago with gimmicks and giveaways staged at Changi Airport and the Novotel Singapore Clark Quay's Food Festival.
Touting the country's official tourism slogan "Wonderful Indonesia," the Tourism Ministry kicked off its campaign on Thursday at Changi's Terminal three with an exhibition of photos and videos capturing Indonesia's natural beauty and cultural heritage.
The event, which runs through Oct. 11, will also highlight Indonesia's visa-free program for citizens from 45 countries.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya described the effort of promoting the archipelago in the World's Best Airport (Skytrax) is like "fishing in a pond full of fish" as the transport hub serves 135,000 passengers every day. This figure excludes transit passengers, airline crew members and airport employees.
Indonesia's ambassador to Singapore Andri Hadi welcomed the event, calling the city state "the perfect" target audience for Indonesia's tourism campaign as its 3.8 million residents are already familiar their Southeast Asian neighbor.
The ambassador declined to mention whether the nation's current haze crisis, which stems from forest fires across Sumatra island and has sparked anger among Singaporeans, will have any possible impact on the promotional efforts.
The Tourism Ministry chose another strategic location with Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay, which is situated along the banks of the historical Singapore River and mere minutes away from the Central Business District and Orchard Road.
"Singapore, a country that small, can attract about 15 million foreign visitors in a year. Malaysia, which offers no more than 10 prime destinations, can draw about 27 million foreign visitors. Thailand is also considered to be successful in its tourism promotion, drawing 25 million visitors," Arief said, adding that he hopes the "Wonderful Indonesia" campaign will be successful in attracting an equally high number of travelers.
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