Destination Europe travel fair to lure RI travelers

Twenty-four European states will participate in the first ever European travel and cultural fair in Indonesia in an attempt to attract more Indonesian tourists to the region.

The event, titled Destination Europe, will be held at Balai Kartini convention center in South Jakarta and run from Oct. 18 until Oct. 19.

 Each participating European nation will have their own booth that will showcase their respective cultures.

European Union Ambassador to Indonesia Olof Skoog described the travel fair as a "holistic" event that aims to clearly and vividly showcase the cultures and sights of all EU member nations and several others to gradually attract more visitors to the subcontinent. 

"We know that the economy here is growing and more and more Indonesians are traveling abroad, mostly to places in the Middle East or in Asia. We want them to know that Europe, as the number one destination in the world, is also a good option," Skoog told a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.   

Thirteen Indonesian travel agencies and the Foreign Ministry will be participating in the event, which will also showcase cooking demonstrations, musical performances and offer language classes.

Non-EU member states such as the UK, Norway, Turkey and Georgia will also be participating in the travel fair.

 "The aim is to show Europe as it is: exciting, safe and clean," Skoog added.

According to recent EU data, around 150,000 to 200,000 Indonesians visit Europe annually as tourists and approximately 140,000 Schengen visas were applied for in Indonesia in 2013, with a 96 percent success rate.

Earlier in June, the EU parliament considered easing visa conditions for Indonesians to boost tourist numbers. Under the planned changes, Indonesian applicants would no longer need to provide medical travel insurance and the process to get a visa would be shortened to 10 days instead of the current average of 15 days. (dyl/nfo)