TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has joined hands with South Korea’s celebrities Lee Seo-jin and Jung Yoo-mi to promote Lombok tourism.

“Starting from March 24, Garuda will promote Lombok on a biweekly basis, particularly Gili Trawangan with unique, attractive promotional methods carried out by famous Korean television stars that will be aired in Korean [channel] TVN,” West Nusa Tenggara regional secretariat spokesman Yusron Hadi said yesterday.

West Nusa Tenggara Governor TGH M. Zainul Majdi met on Thursday with Garuda Indonesia general manager for South Korea Wayan Supatriyasa and acting deputy Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Cecep Herawan at Garuda Indonesia branch office in Seoul, South Korea.

Aside from collaborating with South Korean celebrities, Garuda will also offer special Lombok tourism packages to Korean tourists, Yusron said. “Garuda Korea [branch] has asked for support from the local administration, such as the provision of promotional material and various travel vouchers on offer for Korean tourists,” he said.

Governor M. Zainul Majdi has said he is ready to back the program, according to Yusron.

Indonesia sees 263,000 Korean tourist arrivals per year, only around 4,000 of which are recorded in Lombok.

ANTARA