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**By APD writer Maverick **
**JAKARTA, June 9 (APD) ** – In a bid to tap potential visitors from rapid growing South Korea’s outbound market, Indonesia planned to conduct integrated tourism promotional programs in Seoul, Daejeon and Busan to receive 514,000 visitors targeted from that country this year.
Besides sending its sales mission, Indonesia’s tourism ministry would also hold exhibitions, display tourism-themed posters, set large TV screens in prominent public spaces, including in subways and landmark places of those South Korean big cities.
Deputy Tourism Minister for International Marketing I Gde Pitana said on Friday that the nation’s sales mission would directly meet with at least 100 potential buyers from South Korea comprised travel agents and related firms indulged in the nation’s tourism business.
Pitana said the meetings and related promotional activities would be held in Seoul in June 12, Daejeon in June 14 and Busan in June 16, back-to-back with South Korean travel expo of Hanatour International Travel Show slated from June 8 to 11.
He added that his ministry would bring 15 Indonesian travel agents and tour-related agencies in the upcoming mission in South Korea.
South Korea’s outbound travellers were recorded at 22.3million last year, or 15 percent higher than a year earlier, making the peninsula country one of Asia Pacific countries with enormous outbound records.
“Learning to that figure, South Korea is undoubtedly an important tourism market to Indonesia,” Pitana said.
Pitana's deputy for Asia Pacific region, Vincensius Jemadu, said that the upcoming mission in South Korea was eventually expected to improve Indonesia’s destination rank among South Korean travellers.
“With full supports from related institutions in the country, we expect to be among 10 most-favored destination countries for South Koreans in their outbound travel,” Jemadu said, adding that the nation was still ranked below Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines in most preferred destination countries among South Koreans at present.
Jemadu said that with coordinated efforts to develop tourism sector, which has been set as Indonesia’s core industry, Indonesia would be able to comply with its target to receive foreign visitors from South Korea.
Indonesia has set target to welcome 15 million foreign visitors this year and another 20 million by 2019, earn over 24 billion U.S. dollars in the sector by that time.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
