Following the visit of King Salman to Indonesia, the country’s Minister of Tourism Arief Yahiya has encouraged tour operators and travel agents to showcase Indonesia’s wonders, beauty and fascinating destinations at the Riyadh Travel Fair 2017.
Deputy Minister of International Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism I Gde Pitana, and the Assistant Deputy of International Market Development for Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Middle East Nia Niscaya explained that the number of visitors to the event is quite fantastic. In 2016, the travel fair was attended by 25,724 visitors. The number saw a significant increase of 36 percent compared to 2015 which recorded 17,573 visitors. “We will also promote the 10 priority destinations also known as the ‘New Balis‘ and also destinations and attractions that recently won at the World’s Halal Tourism Award including Lombok, West Sumatra, and Aceh,” explained Nia Niscaya.
Saudi Arabia is currently ranked 13th as the main tourism market of Indonesia and at the top list of Middle East region. The number of tourists from Middle East to Indonesia is rapidly growing by the year. In 2015, the number was recorded at 180,000. Last year, the number increased by 30 percent to 240,000, of which 80 percent came from Saudi Arabia. This year, the ministry has set the target of 50 percent increase to 340,000 visitors.
TripAdviser, the travel planning and booking website, has named Bali as the global winner of its 2017 Travelers’ Choice Awards for destination.

Source: Arab News