0 Bali to participate in ITB Berlin

Despite the decrease in available funds for tourism promotion, the provincial administration is still sending a delegation to the upcoming International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin, one of the largest and oldest travel and trade conventions. The decision reflects the strong emphasis placed by the island’s tourism authority on the need to retain and, if possible, improve its grip on the European market. ITB Berlin will take place March 6-10 and Indonesia has been designated as the official partner country. 

“ITB Berlin is the one event that we have always participated in because it serves as a prominent avenue to increase our presence in the European market, as well as to ensure that the number of visitors from European countries travelling to Bali would always increase,” Bali Tourism Agency head Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu said. Agency data shows that visitors from European countries formed 22.42 percent of the total number of foreign visitors traveling to the resort island in January-November 2012. 

Two European countries, the UK and France, were among the top ten contributors of visitors to the island. “The European market has continued to display positive growth,” he added. The number of European tourists visiting Bali was not the only factor that kept this continent on the radar of the island’s policymakers and tourist industry executives. The second factor was their buying power. Top Indonesia Holidays’ Sugeng Supriyanto once pointed out that visitors from Europe and the US displayed a better length of stay compared to visitors from other continents. 

Their length of stay could reach up to two weeks and they could spend up to US$6,000 per visitor per visit. Naturally, ITB Berlin was still top for the local tourism authority, despite the deep cuts it suffered in the tourism promotion budget. In 2013, the agency is authorized to spend only Rp 1.1 billion (US$113,000) on promotional activities, much less than the Rp 2.3 billion allocated in 2012 and Rp 2.5 billion in 2011. 

“It is not because the administration doesn’t see the importance of tourism promotion but mainly because there are many pressing development programs that the administration must deal with quickly, including poverty eradication and unemployment,” Subhiksu argued, stressing that the agency would work hard to ensure that the limited promotion budget would still yield maximum results. 

A prominent figure in tourism, Bagus Sudibya praised the agency’s decision to participate in ITB Berlin, stressing that the travel trade show was a very important event. “Almost all countries in the world treat ITB Berlin as a must-attend event,” he said, adding that he himself had always attended the event since his first involvement in the industry in 1975. The event, Sudibya disclosed, was also a perfect place to gauge future trends in tourism. “It is an important event for policymakers because it would enable them to learn about the trends and adapt their respective countries’ strategy to get the most out of that trend.”

source : bali daily