80 Overseas Buyers (Confirm Participation In Time)
Following many meetings and much lobbying, as of now 80 Overseas Buyers have confirmed they will attend the Tourism Indonesia Mart and Exhibition (TIME) which will be held this October at The Santosa Hotel in Sengigi. The organizer is aiming for around 150 overseas buyers to attend TIME. The secretary of Lombok Sumbawa Promo, Rosa Stuart, will soon go to Singapore Tourism Market (NATAS), and promote TIME and register participants who will attend this event.
Meanwhile, the Head of Lombok Sumbawa Promo, Misbah Mulyadi, says that preparations for the upcoming TIME event are 70 percent complete. He adds that his office continues to coordinate with Pacto, the event organizer, regarding preparations for the venue, arrival schedule, and a welcoming ceremony for the participants.
Misbah says that there is no change to the schedule and the agenda and all activities will be conducted according to the plan. Whereas regarding the infrastructures issues, Misbah says these will not delay the exhibition and what is more is, the government has guaranteed that they will improve general infrastructure, starting from widening roads to restructuring tourist areas in terms of cleanliness, appearance and comfort. The district administration of West Lombok has a plan to install 300 street lights along the Sengigi tourist site and to lay paving blocks along beaches located near hotels and restaurants.
Misbah states that his office is ready to hold the Tourism Indonesia Mart and Exhibition this October. The local government of West Nusa Tenggara Province has provided support to this event by allocating Rp.5 billion, with the budget managed by two institutions, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism which is responsible for promoting this event abroad and inviting as many buyers as possible, and the local organizer who will work closely together with the event organizer to perform the ceremonial events.
The organizer has targeted as many as 500 buyers to attend TIME and this figure includes both domestic buyers and overseas buyers. The latest estimate is that there will be 150 overseas buyers and the remaining number domestic. Overseas buyers come from Asian region like Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, India, Malaysia, and also many European countries such as Italy, Germany, Russian and Britain, whilst other buyers are coming from Australia, the Middle-East, USA and Mexico.
The implementation of TIME is part of the Visit Lombok Sumbawa 2012 agenda to actively promote West Nusa Tenggara, and this will be the 14th time that this international agenda has been organized in Indonesia. The government is also attempting to mobilize available resources to improve this sector. As proof of it’s determination several international events have taken place on Lombok and more are planned. Work to repair public facilities and to restructure tourist areas are part of the main priorities besides continuous promotion efforts.