After being hosted for two consecutive years in Bandar Lampung at the Southern tip of Sumatra, travel show TIME Pasar Wisata will move to Padang in 2013. A good initiative, which will help strengthening the recovery of a province partially affected by a devastating earthquake in 2010.
LAMPUNG – The city of Bandar Lampung played host for a second consecutive year to Indonesia’s oldest inbound travel show, TIME Pasar Wisata. Over the years, the show, which some 15 years ago welcomed over 200 buyers, has been struggling to keep the inflow of visitors. However, it has proved to be a perfect meeting venue for professionals looking at new products in Indonesia.
In 2011, TIME in Lampung generated contracts and business worth US$ 15.7 million. The 2012 edition welcomed 83 buyers from 28 countries and 74 sellers from 16 Indonesian Provinces with transactions expected to reach US$ 19 million.
Some changes will take place for the future edition as it was revelead by M. Faried, Director for Domestic Promotion at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. The show will now rotate to a new location on a yearly basis instead of every two years. It will then provide a better chance to buyers to experience a new region.
For 2013, this is again the Island of Sumatra which will play host for TIME. The city of Padang will then welcome the show. According to Faried from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the choice of Padang was done not only to help the promotion of a city which has been badly affected by a massive earthquake in September 2010 but also to show that Sumatra is a strategic gateway to Indonesia. The Island is in fact the closest to the Western part of the ASEAN, less than an hour away from Malaysia and Singapore and just two hours away from Bangkok.
Sumatra is already well connected with its six international airports having flights mostly to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Padang is linked internationally by daily flights to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore beside domestic connections to Jakarta, Medan and Batam. As the capital city of West Sumatra, Padang is the main air gateway to the Minangkabau land, an ethnic famed for its lively culture as well as stunning architectural heritage. West Sumatra is also very well known for its beautiful coastline which attracts many surfers and divers.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
