Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism teams up with its consulate general for a five-day “Wonderful Indonesia Week” program here in Jeddah to promote Indonesia as a top international holiday destination. The program with the tagline "Bring the Wonders to Saudi" combines tourism and cultural festival, presenting colorful travel fair highlighting top tourist attractions of East Java, along with fashion and culinary shows, coffee and henna design corners to welcome visitors.

The program was inaugurated by the Consul General Dr. Mohamad Hery Saripudin on Thursday evening (Nov. 14) in the presence of several consuls general in Jeddah, Saudi dignitaries, businessmen and journalists. Saripudin said in his welcoming remark that Saudi Arabia had been progressing and developing for the last three years. Driven by the Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom envisions to be the engine of economic growth, beacon of social dynamics, and source of cultural harmony. “The consulate and the tourism ministry of Indonesia had worked closely to leverage this momentum by introducing a new version of some promotional programs to promote its tourist destinations scattering across the country, other than Bali, Jakarta and several areas in West Java.

“We are making a bigger push on innovative promotional breakthroughs, among others, combining tourism fair and cultural shows to attract more Saudi tourists to Indonesia, and experience its rich culture and wonderful nature,” he said.

He sounded confident that relations between the brotherly nations, particularly among the youth, can be cemented through culture. “Mutual understanding of each other’s cultures makes the two nations better understand each other, which will in the end lead to a stronger relation,” he said.

R. Sigit Witjaksono, assistant deputy for regional marketing development of the Ministry of Tourism, revealed that more than 165,000 Saudis visited the Southeast Asian country in 2018. The Wonderful Indonesia Week program which runs until Tuesday in Jeddah and Nov. 21-23 in Riyadh is meant to increase that number to 200,000 as part of a global visitor target of 20 million for this year.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, with more than 17,000 islands famed for their beaches, wildlife and natural beauty. As well as its natural delights, Indonesia is Islam-friendly, having thousands of mosques and offering products which are Shariah-compliant.