TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesia Festival, the first edition of which was held in Moscow in 2016, has helped increase the number of Russian tourists to Indonesia, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia and Belarus Wahid Supriyadi stated.

Some 125 thousand Russian tourists had visited Indonesia in 2018, nearly double than 68 thousand in 2016, according to the Tourism Ministry’s data.

The number of Indonesian tourists visiting Russia also rose owing to the festival, Supriyadi noted in his remarks during the opening ceremony of the Fourth Indonesia Festival in Moscow on Friday.

Some five thousand Indonesian tourists had visited Russia in 2016, with the figure increasing to 31 thousand last year, he pointed out.

Furthermore, the festival has expanded markets for Indonesian commodities, he noted.

A total of one thousand Indonesian businesses are participating in this year’s Indonesia Festival featuring 177 booths that display various products including foods, beverages, and souvenirs from several Indonesian provinces.

The Aceh Province booth was thronged by visitors during the first day of the festival.

Aceh offers Gayo's Arabica coffee at prices ranging from 600 Rubles to 800 Rubles, while coffee chocolate is sold at 60 Rubles per bar.

Aceh has yet to export its Gayo coffee to Russia, so it is optimistic of attracting potential exporters to the festival, Tueku Satria Wira of the Aceh trade office remarked.

He noted that several West European countries, particularly Germany, are importers of Gayo Arabica coffee, with its characteristic strong coffee aroma.

The 2019 Indonesia Festival is being organized at the 16.5-hectare Krasnaya Presnya Park located in downtown Moscow, Russia, on August 2-4, 2019. "We have received full support from the Moscow mayor, so we get such a large park," Supriyadi had earlier stated.

The fourth Indonesian Festival in Moscow will positively impact the economy, trade, tourism, and understanding of Russian people about Indonesia.

He is upbeat about more trade transactions and economic cooperation as well as Russian tourist visits to Indonesia following the festival. The festival also features a culinary bazaar and a workshop on batik.

ANTARA