Japan and Indonesia held the “ASEM Symposium on Promoting Tourism in Jakarta” on 28th February at the AYANA Mid Plaza Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on the occasion of pre-celebrating the ASEM Day, March 1.
The Symposium was aimed to further deepen the discussion on promoting tourism through promotion and investment as a way of strengthening connectivity between Asia and Europe.
H.E. Mr. Masafumi Ishii, Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia, delivered the Welcome Speech. He was followed by H.E. Mr. Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia and H.E. Mr. Rachmat Gobel, Special Envoy for the President of the Republic of Indonesia to Japan. They emphasized that tourism is an engine for growth and decent job creation, as well as a crucial tool to enhance people-to-people connectivity. Especially it was stated by the Indonesian side that promoting investment is significantly important, which was confirmed by all participants.
Tourism Promotion was discussed in the first half of the Symposium. Mr. Hideki Tomioka, Executive Director of Japan National Tourism Organization, Jakarta Office and Mr. Taufik Hidayat, Deputy Director of Tourism Marketing for Japan Market, Ministry of Tourism explained tourism promotion policy of both governments respectively.
In the second half of the Symposium, Island Tourism was discussed. Mr. Hiramsyah Sambudhy Thaib, Team Leader for the Acceleration of Development of Priority Tourism Destination, Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia and Mr. Junichi Kumada, Executive Director and Chief Research Officer, Head of Global Tourism Agenda, JTB Tourism, Research and Consulting Corp., former UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) senior officer, focused on good practices and challenges of Island Tourism.
At the end of the Symposium, Mr Yuji Amamiya, Director of the Asia-Europe Cooperation Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, delivered the closing speech. He introduced Japanese contribution to the ASEM and its member countries.
Subsequently, participants had luncheon, which contributed to networking.
The Symposium was held in Jakarta this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Indonesia. Other many participants representing different institutions, namely, the Indonesian Government officials, local business community, Japanese tourism industry community, and diplomatic delegation of the ASEM Partners in Jakarta also contributed to the discussion in the event.
