More Than Just Culinary: The 2025 Nusa Food Lifts Indonesia's Flavor And Culture Heritage

The Ministry of Tourism presented the gastronomi tour program at the Nasa 2025 Food Show on October 15' 18 2025 at the Hall 9 Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) BSD City, Tangerang. (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Tourism)

JAKARTA - Gastronomi tourism is now a new attraction in the world of global tourism. Through culinary experience, tourists not only enjoy meals, but also understand the history, philosophy, and local wisdom behind every dish.

Indonesia, with the diversity of flavors from Sabang to Merauke, has great potential to highlight culinary identity as an important part of the promotion of destinations. Combining taste and culture, this concept is now being raised in various national events, one of which is through the 2025 Nusa Food Show.

The Ministry of Tourism presented the gastronomi tour program at the Nasa 2025 Food Show on October 15 - 18 2025 at the Hall 9 Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) BSD City, Tangerang.

"We want to show that Indonesia's culinary wealth is not only about taste, but also about the cultural heritage and accompanying experience," said Deputy for Industry and Investment at the Ministry of Tourism Rizki Handayani as quoted by ANTARA.

Rizki explained that this program is part of the upgrading tourism' campaign initiated by the Ministry of Tourism. The goal is to strengthen Indonesia's gastronomi position as a new force in tourism promotion, as well as open up investment opportunities and expand business networks in the culinary sector.

A total of six gastronomi industry players were selected to participate in the exhibition with the theme Eat, Explore, Experience Indonesia Gastronomy. They are Jakarta Creative Tourism, Rendang Traveler Uni Reno, Bumi Waya, Dje Djak Rasa, Samsara Living Museum, and the Land of Spice Foundation.

"The six of them are industry players who have previously participated in thetensive Indonesia Scale-Up Hub (WISH) program," he said.

In this activity, industry players present a gastronomi tour package that not only highlights the culinary delights of the archipelago, but also presents the stories and cultural values behind it. This approach is expected to expand tourists' understanding of Indonesian culinary as part of the integral of a comprehensive tourism experience.

In addition, this event also features a variety of superior products from the Indonesian Food Startup (FSI), an incubation program that has resulted in many culinary innovations with export potential.

"The 2025 Nusa Food Momentum is expected to be an important foothold in realizing Indonesia as the world's leading gastronomi destination," he said.

Held by the Ministry of Trade, the 2025 Nusa Food Exhibition is part of the 40th Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) series, which carries the spirit of encouraging local products to penetrate the Global Market.

As an event that displays a variety of superior Nusantara food products, the 2025 Nusa Food shows the creativity and high innovation of national business actors, both from MSMEs and large industries. This year, there were 186 culinary and packaged food businesses participating, signaling the industry's high enthusiasm for Indonesia's culinary market opportunities.

Of these, 37 business actors served ready-to-eat dishes, while the rest displayed packaged food products such as snacks, special drinks, processed spices, and raw materials that had gone through a rigorous curation process.

This exhibition not only functions as a storefront for culinary products, but also a strategic platform to expand export access, bring together business actors with international buyers, and strengthen Indonesia's position in the global food supply chain.

Through this strategic collaboration, the Ministry of Tourism hopes that the Indonesian gastronomi industry will be increasingly known in the international arena, gain access to new markets, and strengthen the contribution of culinary MSMEs to national economic growth," said Rizki.