Tourism cooperation potential between Viet Nam and Indonesia was highlighted at the programme “Indonesia Tourism Table Top in Viet Nam 2017”, held by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and the Indonesian Embassy in Ha Noi on April 5.
More than 10 Indonesian travel agents met with some 40 Vietnamese tour operators from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City to introduce tourism packages and tourist attractions and to seek cooperation opportunities.
A representative from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism was present at the event and lauded cooperation prospects between the two countries.
Indonesia’s Acting Ambassador to Viet Nam Suryana Satradiredja said that Indonesia wants to cooperate with Vietnamese travel companies, management agencies and media to lure more tourists to the country.
Indonesia and Viet Nam have huge opportunities to boost tourism cooperation as the numbers of vacationers are still low when compared with their respective populations, he added.
Last year, only 69,653 Indonesian tourists visited Viet Nam and about 50,000 Vietnamese holidaymakers toured Indonesia.
Further tourism opportunities will be available for Viet Nam and Indonesia thanks to increasing wealth in both countries, coupled with the launch of direct flights and the possibility of signing tourism cooperation agreements between the two nations, he said.
Indonesia is the world’s largest island country with 17,000 islands. Bali and Yogjakarta are among the most popular destinations.
On the occasion, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism highlighted 10 major destinations called 10 “New Bali” tourít sites. Those include Toba Lake (North Sumatra), Tanjung Kelayang (Bangka Belitung), Tanjung Lesung (Banten), Borobudur (Central Java), Bromo-Tengger-Semeru (East Java), Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenngara), Mandalika (West Nusa Tenggara) and Wakatobi (Southeast Sulawesi).
The country has set a target of serving 20 million foreign visitors by 2019 while Viet Nam expects to welcome 17-20 million foreign holidaymakers by 2020.