Delegation in Kuwait to promote ‘Jakarta Road Show’
KUWAIT: A delegation from Indonesia visited Kuwait for a two-day ‘Jakarta Road Show 2014’ on Thursday and Friday. The delegation first met with local media during a press conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which was followed by the road show for local travel agents to meet 17 sellers from Indonesia. The delegation also held an entertaining activity for the public on Friday at The Avenues mall, where they gave away many gifts and prizes.
The event was held by the Indonesian Tourism Society (ITS) in cooperation with the Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait and the Jakarta City Government Tourism and Culture Office (JCGTCO). A group of Indonesian women presented a traditional dance performance ‘Tari Rengo Maris’ during the conference on Thursday.
Hari Wibowo, Head of the Overseas Promotion Sector of the JCGTCO, gave a presentation on Jakarta’s touristic potentials. “Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia with a population of over 12 million people. It’s the world’s largest island nation and the 4th largest in population. Over 2.3 million tourist visited Jakarta this year,” he said during the press conference.
Indonesia has various options and attractions to offer tourists. “The city abounds with 2,018 restaurants offering various cuisines including Arabic food. There are 173 shopping centers in Jakarta, 38 international spas and 108 islands. Furthermore, about 47 international music festivals are held there every year. So tourists will always find interesting places to visit during their stay in Jakarta,” added Wibowo.
Herna Pruistina Danuningrat, Chairwoman of ITS, noted that it’s easy to reach Jakarta from Kuwait. “There are three direct flights every week from Kuwait to Indonesia, and tens of flights by various airlines. Out of the more than 2 million tourists visiting Jakarta annually, 125,000 are from the Middle East, and about 2,000 to 3,000 are from Kuwait,” she noted.
According to her, Kuwaiti citizens can get a visa on arrival, but if they prefer to avoid queues at the airport, they can also get a visa from the Indonesian embassy here in Kuwait, which can be issued on the same day. “We always remind the tourists to have their passport valid for at least 6 months,” she added. “Many festivals are held in Jakarta throughout the year, including a shopping festival in June and July every year. A big event coming soon is the Jakarta Night Festival that will be held on New Year’s Eve. So we invite tourists to come and enjoy,” concluded Danuningrat.