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By APD Writer Maverick
**JAKARTA, Oct. 9 (APD) ** — Indonesia engages its student communities studying in China to expand national tourism promotion through Chinese social media, aimed at further tapping more travelers from Indonesia’s ultimate tourism market.
It was officiated with the establishment of Generation Wonderful Indonesia (GenWI) over the weekend in Shanghai, joined by at least 70 Indonesian students studying in China’s eastern region who already savvy with Chinese social media, including Weibo, WeChat and Youku.
“We are proud, happy to partake in the efforts to promote Wonderful Indonesia from China, which now tops foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia,” Chairman of Indonesian Student Association (PPI) China chapter Reynaldo Aprillio, who was elected as GenWI chief, said in the event held in an Indonesian restaurant in Shanghai on Saturday.
The GenWI would be assigned to spread tourism promotion contents comprised of photos, videos, graphic images, text story, etc., produced by GenPI (Generation Pesona Indonesia) which was established earlier in China and now is also led by Reynaldo.
Speaking in the GenWI inauguration event, Tourism Ministry Secretary Ukus Kuswara said that the GenWI in China would be the first one established in the world, resulted from discussions among PPI senior members held in Warwich, London recently.
“China is assessed of essential, the ultimate market for Indonesia. Currently Chinese tourists have replaced dominations of tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Japan,” Ukus added.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s special assistant for communications affairs Don Kardono said that GenWI would hold key roles to promote networking, potentialities of Indonesian destinations, calendar of events and government’s latest policies in tourism sector.
“Besides that, they would promote the ethics code in social media, barren from spreading false information, political contents and other indecent materials. It was previously applied in the formation of GenPI,” Don said.
Operation of GenWI would get full supports from Indonesia’s Counselor General Office in Shanghai so as to make its jobs have greater impacts in addressing national tourism sector.
Indonesia Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that GenWI would become Indonesia’s model to promote tourism sector in the millennial era which heavily relies on digital technology.
“Besides assigned to deal with huge Chinese market, 75 percent of youths across the world were mow customized to search and share with digital technology. GenWI would operate their activities online through the social media, matches with future consumers who would be more digital-minded ones,” the minister commented on Monday.
Indonesia is now striving its utmost to develop tourism sector which has been set as the nation’s leading industry highly expected to receive 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 and earnings of more than 24 billion U.S. Dollars by that time.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
