Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara hosts Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo 2010

The chairwoman and steering committee of TIME 2010, Meity Robot, said the conduct of TIME also supports the government program of “Visit Indonesia Year,” which continued this year, as TIME is aimed at promoting Indonesia as a tourist destination in the international market and at the same time raising the country image as one of the top global travel destinations.

“TIME is the only international travel mart in Indonesia with a business-to-business concept. The event is a meeting place for those who sell tourism products and services in Indonesia (seller) to [the] international market (buyer). TIME has been listed in the calendar of international travel mart[s] together with ITB Berlin, WTM London, Arabian Travel Mart (ATM), PATA Travel Mart, and so on. TIME 2010 will present all tourist destinations, including popular travel destinations, tourism objects, [and] new product development,” Meity continued.

“The shifting of TIME to Lombok for two consecutive years, i.e., 2009 and this year, is aimed at promoting Lombok and West Nusa Tenggara to the international market and speeding up the development and improvement of infrastructure, tourism facilities, and tourism attractions in the region, so that at the end, the destination could establish itself as one of [the top] global travel destinations. Moreover, with the completion of [a] new international airport expected to be ready this year, it will attract more tourist arrivals to the island and speed up the improvement of infrastructure and encourage more investors to the region to develop new hotels, as well as tourism attractions,” Meity went on.

At press time with the local organizing committee of TIME 2010, consisting of the West Tenggara Culture and Tourism Office and Lombok Sumbawa Promo, it was stated that the conduct of TIME in Lombok was the initial international promotional effort or a kick-off towards the success of “Visit Lombok Sumbawa 2012,” and this year Lombok is ready to once again host TIME, as the event is supported by the provincial government and its tourism industry.

Lombok is located just east of Bali. The island is only 20 minutes by flight from Bali via Selaparang International Airport. he island possesses various tourism potentials, which could attract international markets, from nature, i.e. mountain, sea, land, to culture and art. Presently, Lombok has almost 3500 hotel rooms with international standards. In terms of accessibility, Lombok is reachable directly from Singapore by Silk Air, and from Kuala Lumpur via Surabaya by Merpati Nusantara, as well as frequent flights from Jakarta by Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air, and from Denpasar by Merpati Nusantara.

Held last year in Lombok, TIME 2009 successfully attracted attendants representing 127 buyers from 25 countries, with the top 5 buyers consisting of Korea, India&Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, and the Netherlands. TIME 2009 also attracted a total of 250 delegates with sellers from 97 companies, including Indonesia, which occupied 84 booths at the exhibition. The top 5 sellers came from 15 provinces dominated by West Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, Bali, Central Java, and East Kalimantan. The percentage of sellers based on industry was hotel, resort and spa (75 percent), NTO (10 percent), tour operator/travel agent (7 percent), adventure/activity holiday (3 percent), airline (1.5 percent), and others (hotel management, tourism board, tourism organization and travel portal (8.5 percent). Amid the current global financial crisis, TIME 2009 booked an estimated US$17.48 million in transactions, increasing 15 percent from the previous TIME held in Makassar, South Sulawesi in 2008. “The number of buyers attending TIME for seven consecutive years have been relatively steady, since these are potential buyers, which sell Indonesian tourism products and services in their markets respectively,” Meity concluded.

TIME 2010 is supported by the travel and tourism industry in Indonesia, namely the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the provincial government of West Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara Culture and Tourism Office, Lombok Sumbawa Promo, Garuda Indonesia as the official airline, along with supporting airline Indonesia National Air Carriers Association (INACA), Board of Airline Representatives Indonesia (BARINDO), Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA), Indonesia Hotels and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Indonesian Conference and Convention Association (INCCA), Pacto Convex as the event organizer, and is supported by national and international media.