by Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai
What a surprise at today’s press conference conducted by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Republic of Indonesia, as well as the Government of Lampung Province, when it was officially announced during TIME 2012 that the next Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) 2013 will move to Padang – West Sumatra.
After being held for two years in Bandar Lampung, the annual event is organized by members of the international tourism sector and supported by the entire tourism industry in Indonesia, as a means to attract potential visitors to Indonesia.

As every year, top industry policy-makers, sellers and buyers of Indonesian-based tourism products and services will be participating. TIME accommodates the interest of local industry players seeking to introduce their tourism products and services to the international markets. The event will feature the best of Indonesia’s tourist attractions, including exciting destinations and special interests as well as top tourist facilities in the country.

Padang in West Sumatra was mainly chosen as venue of TIME 2013 because of its connectivity through its Minangkabau International Airport to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Singapore. The Organizing Committee of TIME also decided to run the annual mart on a yearly rotating basis to promote as much provinces to the world as possible in the future.

This year’s mart attracted 83 buyers from 28 countries, while 74 sellers came from Indonesia to show their new tourism products with an expected transaction worth of 19 million USD.