Join The Tourism Exhibition In Lisbon, Indonesia Aims For Tourists From Portugal

Visitors to the Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa Travel Market tourism exhibition, in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday (2/3/2024) are busy at Indonesian booths. (Between/Personal Documentation-Sutrisno Iwantono)

JAKARTA - Indonesia is targeting tourists from Portugal by participating in the largest tourism exhibition in the country, Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa Travel Market which will take place in Lisbon, February 28 - March 3, 2024.

"After the first three days of the opening of the Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa Travel Market, specifically for professionals and B2B (meeting between entrepreneurs), starting Saturday (2/3) an exhibition will be opened for the general public who live in Lisbon and its surroundings," said Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) DKI Jakarta, Sutrisno Iwantono in a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta, Sunday.

Iwantono said the Indonesian booth received a good response from visitors. "Direct observation at the Indonesian booth at Hall 4, Booth 11 at Feira Internacional de Lisboa received an enthusiastic response from the community," said Iwantono who also attended the exhibition.

Stan Indonesia, said Iwantono, was filled by representatives of the Indonesian Embassy in Lisbon, DKI Jakarta PHRI, hotel representatives from Bali, and investment opportunities in Banyuwangi.

Stan Indonesia is also enlivened by the rigid dance presented by the Indonesian Embassy in Lisbon. Also present was the Indonesian Ambassador to Portugal Rudy Alfonso. This art show is an attractive attraction for visitors.

Prior to the pandemic, based on data from the Indonesian Embassy, in 2018 this tourism promotion event was attended by 1,000 participants, 400 practitioners, and attended by around 77,000 visitors. Meanwhile, in 2022, the total number of visitors reached 45,369 people.

The Indonesian Embassy in Portugal noted that before the COVID-19 pandemic, Portuguese tourist visits to Indonesia were quite high, especially for the 2017-2019 period, with an average of 35,154 tourists per year. Based on BPS data, the peak number of Portuguese tourists visiting Indonesia was recorded in 2018 reaching 36,804 visitors.

However, in 2020, the number of Portuguese tourists to Indonesia is only 6,245 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the number of tourists began to increase again after the pandemic began to end.

Iwantono did not mention the transaction target at the exhibition, but it is hoped that the impact will also occur after the exhibition which will eventually increase the return visit of Portuguese tourists to Indonesia.