TIME 2011 puts Lampung on the tourism map

With hosting the 17th TIME (or Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo) 2011 at Bandar Lampung, attended by 76 international buyers from 27 countries, the province of Lampung at the southern-most tip of the island of Sumatra, hopes to have placed Lampung on the international tourism map.

Opening the 17th TIME and the Krakatau Festival at Bandar Lampung on Wednesday, October 12, Governor Sjahroedin said that he hoped TIME will serve as the momentum to boost tourist arrivals to Lampung, making tourism as the primary means in developing the province to benefit the people.

“I believe the event will serve as an eye-opener for the international community on what Lampung has to offer,” he said. TIME is the perfect platform to showcase this new destination’s potentials.

Director General for Tourism Marketing Sapta Nirwandar agreed that Lampung has plenty of potentials, possessing icons like the Krakatau volcano, the Way Kambas elephant conservation park, the Tanjung Setia world-class surf, although many of its products, Sapta conceded, still need to be developed.

Major infrastructure development that will facilitate access to the province, Governor Sjahroedin said, are the planned Sunda Straits bridge linking the islands of Java with Sumatra, as well as the extension of the Raden Inten airport at Bandar Lampung whose runway will be extended to 2,500 meters, and further planned in future to be extended to 3,000 meters to become an international airport.

The 17th Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) 2011 was officially opened, held at the Korpri Field, Bandar Lampung, on Wednesday evening, October 12, 2011. The official opening ceremony was attended by Marketing Director General of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Sapta Nirwandar, and the Governor of Lampung province, Sjachroedin ZP. The ceremony also marked the grand opening of the Festival Krakatau XXI, which is jointly held from October 12-16, 2011.

The opening ceremony featured art and cultural presentations of Lampung. The Pan Ensemble Music Sumatera commenced the evening, followed by the contemporary gambus Lunik musical art. Lampung Orchestra Ekhamku presented an elegant sound harmonization, and the Sigeh Penguten gave the welcome dance that absorbed the audience into the beauty of Lampung traditional values, as did the Melinting dance, featuring the graceful movements of a couple of youths.

The 76 Buyers attending TIME 2011 included those from the USA, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. This year, the event was also attended by buyers from new markets such as Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, the Cezch Republic, and Mexico. For this 17th edition, the organizing committee targeted an increase of 15-18% over total transactions last year, to reach around US$20 million.

TIME 2011 is organized by the Indonesia Tourism Society (Masyarakat Pariwisata Indonesia) and is supported by the entire tourism stakeholders of the country, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Provincial Government of Lampung, the Association of Indonesia’s Travel Agent (ASITA), the Association of Indonesia’s Tour Guide, and the Association of Indonesia’s Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI).

TIME is Indonesia’s long-standing yearly tourism industry contract show, which is recognized in the world tourism calendar.

Information on Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo 2011 is available at:

www.pasarwisata.com
www.tourismindonesiamartexpo.com
www.Indonesia.travel