TEMPO.CO, Moscow - The Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia in collaboration with Russian airline Rossiya Airlines organized a joint promotion of Indonesian tourism in Russia to increase the flow of Russian tourists to Indonesia. The event took place at St. Petersburg on Friday, November 22, 2019.

Present at the event were representatives of the tourism industry players of St. Petersburg, such as tour operators, travel agents and tourism media. Indonesian Ambassador to the Russian Federation concurrently the Republic of Belarus, M. Wahid Supriyadi, who was also present at this event helped to convince the potential of Indonesian tourism for Russian tourists.

During the meeting, Ambassador Wahid said that every year Russian tourists to Indonesia tend to increase. If the target of 162 thousand Russian tourists this year is met, then there will be an increase of about 100% since the 1st Indonesian Festival was held in 2016. The potential of Russian tourists for Indonesia is huge. Various attempts were made by Indonesia to further promote Indonesian tourism in Russia. The existence of regular direct flights from Rossiya Airlines from Moscow to Denpasar is expected to further boost the flow of Russian tourists to Indonesia.

"We support the implementation of Joint Promotion as one form of promotion of Indonesia in Russia, in addition to the Indonesian Festival and various other activities," Ambassador Wahid said.

Indonesia is one of Russia's tourist destinations. In 2017, the number of Russian tourists to Indonesia was 117,500 people and in 2018 there were 125,697 people, up 6.95% from 2017. Meanwhile, in the January-September 2019 period Russian tourists to Indonesia were 109,003 people, up 19.07% from the same period in 2018 there were 91,544 people registered.

The number of Russian tourists to Indonesia is the fifth largest in Europe after Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. In 2019 the target of Russian tourists to Indonesia is 162,800 people.

Indonesian Tourism Joint Promotion in St Petersburg

Agustini Rahayu, Deputy Assistant for Marketing Development II Regional IV Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia explained to the participants of Joint Promotion that Indonesia has a lot of tourist attractions. Most Russian tourists visit Bali, but there are also other beautiful and interesting destinations that can be visited, such as Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Likupang (North Sulawesi), Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenggara), Mandalika (West Nusa Tenggara), and Borobudur (Central Java).

Russian tourists to Indonesia can use regular direct flights Rossiya Airlines from Moscow to Denpasar with a travel time of 12 hours 15 minutes. This flight shortens the trip distance when transiting in a country, the trip takes between 18-20 hours.

The opening of the first flight Rossiya Airlines, which is a subsidiary of Aeroflot, was conducted on October 28, 2018. The aircraft used was a Boeing 777-300 Extended Range with a capacity of 21 seats in business class and 436 seats in economy class. Since the first flight until November 2019 Rossiya Airlines has carried more than 72,000 passengers.

The average aircraft seat that is fulfilled by passengers is 70% on each flight. In August 2019, seats were filled at 79%, and in September 2019 at 84%. The highest achievement of seats fulfilled was 97% in October 2019 (Denpasar-Moscow). Currently Moscow-Denpasar-Moscow flights are carried out three times a week.

Emergi Starikov, Spokesperson for Rossiya Airlines said that Rossiya Airlines is the only airline that makes direct flights from Moscow to Denpasar. Rossiya Airlines seeks to provide optimal service facilities for passengers to be comfortable during the flight. Besides in St. Petersburg, Joint Promotion was also held in Moscow on November 19, 2019 which was followed by tourism industry players in Moscow. Both cities are the largest cities in Russia.

TEMPO.CO