TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Yogyakarta has been chosen as the host for the 35th General Assembly of the International Council of Women (ICW), which is slated for September 12-19, 2018.
The conference, which will be opened by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, will see 200 delegations from 80 countries as well as 1,000 representatives of women organizations, ambassadors, and ministers.
“A total of 1,500 participants will stay in Yogyakarta for a week and that is great tourism potential,” said Yogyakarta provincial secretary Gatot Saptadi at the Yogyakarta Governor Office on Friday, July 13.
Gatot explained the long-term event would boost the tourism business during low season. Thus, the regional government welcomes the international conference and will prepare several tourism destinations for tourists.
Read: Yogyakarta Optimistic to Reach 10% Increase in Tourist Visits
“We’ll enhance security, convenience, and order particularly at tourism destinations so as to ensure that Yogyakarta is ready to welcome international tourists,” he said.
The Indonesian Women’s Congress (Kowani) secretary-general Titien Pamudjie as the organizing committee said the congress, themed Transforming Society through Women Empowerment, will take place at Inna Garuda Hotel on Jl. Malioboro. The closing ceremony will be at Borobudur Balai Ekonomi Desa, Magelang, Central Java.
“We choose Yogya as the host because of its supporting facilities and especially its tourism destinations for the international delegations,” said Titien.
Yogyakarta Tourism Agency head Aris Riyanta mentioned based on its data in 2017, foreign tourists visited Yogyakarta for 2.01 days, while domestic tourists stayed for 1.9 days. “We expect tourist arrivals to increase to 10 percent from that of in 2017, which amounted to 397.000 international tourists and 4.7 million domestic tourists,” he said.
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