Tourism Ministry, ITDC promote Bali via international events
The Tourism Ministry and the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) are working together to promote tourism in Bali through international events, such as the recent Bali Blues Festival (BBF) 2017 held from May 26 to 27.
ITDC president director Abdulbar Mansoer is optimistic that after BBF 2017, Nusa Dua Bali will be ready to host much bigger festivals in the future. “[Bali] has been trusted to become the host for IMF – World Bank Annual Meeting 208. The ITDC and the Tourism Ministry will be holding more world-class festivals in Nusa Dua, Bali, and monthly music festivals to maintain our accessibility, accommodations and attractiveness,” said Mansoer.
“Bali is set to be a place that can accommodate any kind of event. This festival [BBF 2017] is perfect because music is a universal language. After the event, visitors are going to associate Bali with music and will return to Bali,” said I Gde Pitana, the Tourism Ministry’s deputy for overseas promotion.
The BBF 2017 had the nation’s best musicians perform in the two-day festival such as Gugun Blues Shelter, Indra Lesmana, Balawan “The Magic Finger,” Gilang Ramadhan and the Krakatau Reunion music group.
Forty percent of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia travel to Bali.
Bali’s special tourism portfolio consists of three elements: culture (50 percent), nature (30 percent) and man-made (20 percent). The culture element is then divided into three categories: culinary arts, art and tradition (50 percent), city and village tourism (30 percent) and religious and heritage tourism (20 percent). (asw)
