“Indonesia Day” at the College of Tourism in New Belgrade

Belgrade College of Tourism in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, with the support of the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara” organized “Indonesia Day”, an event which was to introduce students to the civilizations, nations and cultures of the world.

“Indonesia Day” at the College of Tourism in Belgrade is another step in the efforts to further develop the cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism, said the Ambassador of that Southeast Asian country Samuel Samson.

Presenting the tourism potential of Indonesia, the Ambassador said that the event was a good starting point for the cooperation between the College of Tourism and related educational institutions in Indonesia, and that it would also help develop relations between the two geographically distant countries whose relations date back from the mid-1950s.

In his opening speech, Proffesor dr Milan Skakun, director of the College of Tourism said that students and higher education institutions could learn about the cultures, traditions, tourism industry and economic potential of about 600 million people from the country, whose diplomats had so far participated in the program of this College, “Visiting Ambassador.” He also emphasized that Indonesia was the largest country presented in this higher education institution.

At this cultural and educational event Ambassador Samson spoke about the present economic situation in this world’s most indented island state (over 17,500 islands) and fourth most populated nation (over 250 million inhabitants), as well as its tourism potential.

Indonesia is now the 16th economic power in the world and a member of the Group of 20 most powerful economies in the world. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia is the seat of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), significant political, economic and cultural organization of the countries from this part of Asia bringing together 10 countries and being the eighth economy in the world.

According to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund, gross domestic product (GDP) of Indonesia in 2012 (not reduced by inflation) was more than 928 billion dollars.

Measured in purchasing power parity (PPP at market prices), the GDP of Indonesia was more than $ 1.2 trillion (one thousand billion) dollars.

According to the data of the Indonesian Embassy in Serbia, with the revenue of $ 8.5 billion in 2012, tourism is the fifth largest economic activity in the GDP of the state. Last year, Indonesia was visited by 7 million foreign and about 30 million domestic tourists.

In 2012 the tourism industry in Indonesia increased by five percent.

During 1980s Indonesia began to invest in the development of tourism, especially in the travel and transportation infrastructure, and last year it had as many as 1,623 hotels.

It is still a significant incoming tourist destination, with more than 80 airports for passenger traffic and 349 ports, 127 of which are for ocean shipping. Major tourist destinations are the islands of Bali and Java

Among the most frequently visited places are the Borobudur, a Hindu temple built in the IX century BC in Central Java and Raja Ampat, a group of islands in West Papua, the easternmost part of the country, which is considered to be the largest aqua park in the world.

During the event the students and their guests were able to see the promotional films about the natural beauty of Indonesia and to become familiar with the basic geographic and tourist information about the country through the presentation of Sri Angraeni Diponegoro, Associate for media, social and culture affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, who is also the member of the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara”. They could also learn about the scholarship opportunities and the impressions of Jelena Savkovic, also the members of the “Nusantara”, about her one-year stay in Indonesia.

In the artistic part of the program, the guests were able to enjoy the performance of Balinese dancers, the sounds of the gamelan orchestra (a mixture of percussion and stringed instruments that play traditional Indonesian secular music), among whom were members of the “Nusantara” Association Marko Jelic, Zarko Vidakovic, Nebojsa Pavlovic and Boris Vancev and the sounds of angklung (an instrument made of bamboo).

At the end of the event, guests were served a mixture of Serbian and Indonesian traditional cuisine, prepared by their wives of diplomats at the Embassy, as well as the products of “Indofood”, the first Indonesian company that started operating in Serbia, and has regional ambitions.

This was also the occasion to introduce potential partners from Indonesia to the possibilities of cooperation with the College of Tourism.

“Indonesia Day” was attended by many members of the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara” and the chairman dr Aleksander Rakovic answered to the questions of the media.