Jakarta. Travel agencies from neighboring Singapore and Malaysia will send representatives to a series of events next month to promote tourism to the Bangka Belitung Islands.

The Pelangi Travel Mart 2017 will be held on May 9-12 and is being organized by Bangka Belitung regional representatives of the Association of Indonesian Tourism (ASPPI).

"Pelangi Travel Mart will host 50 sellers and 100 buyers and has booked 70 participants for the event so far. We are aiming to book local stakeholders, including hotels, souvenir shops and restaurants," ASPPI Bangka Belitung director, Agus Pahlevi, said on Saturday (01/04).

"If there are no hurdles, other neighboring countries will also participate in the event to offer travel packages to Bangka Belitung."

Aside from its hard selling strategy, the event's organizer plans to hold other activities to promote Bangka Belitung. The Travel Mart will be hosted on Lepar Island, in the central Bangka city of Namang and in the provincial capital of Pangkalpinang.

"We will emphasize promoting maritime tourism, but we are generally encouraging potential visitors to enrich themselves in Bangka Belitung's local cultural," Agus said.

"From Lepar Island, tourists are able to travel to surrounding islands, including to Kelapan and Mercusuar, and to Tukam village, a local town known for its industrious recycling program," Agus said.

Pelangi Travel Mart will also be supported by the Ministry of Tourism, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurants Association (PHRI) and the Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI).

Esthy Reko Astuti, the deputy minister for tourism marketing, said the upcoming events are an example of recent government efforts to attract more foreign visitors to the country.

"Tourists visiting Indonesia can contribute to the country's economic strength as their expenses determine our foreign exchange earnings," Esthy said. "Local tourism agencies, who are dominated by young people, have been shrewd enough to introduce the Bangka Belitung Islands to foreign tourists, a relatively unfamiliar destination."

"Agencies have been aggressively promoting tourism packages on social media," she said.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the event is crucial to building up the country's tourism industry.

"I would suggest local tourism agents join the Indonesia Tourism Xchange [ITX] – a digital marketplace endorsed by Tourism Ministry – to enable agents to promote their business through a streamlined online platform," Arief said.

During a National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas), Arief also said that conventional travel agents are facing new challenges to adapt to an increasing online marketplace. According to ministry data, at least 70 percent of tourists book their trips on the web.