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It’s TIME for Indonesia

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TIME ‘06 moves to Makassar

AFTER being held in Yogyakarta for two consecutive years, Makassar, formerly known as Ujung Pandang, is now readying for this year’s annual Indonesian tourism show, Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME).

Also known as Pasar Wisata Indonesia, the event will be held at Clarion Hotel & Convention from September 18 to 21. It has been held for twelve years now, organized by the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board (ITPB).
“TIME brings top travel industry members from around the world to see first hand the enduring charm of our tropical country and the significant new investments made in the tourism sectors,” said Meity Robot, chairperson of the TIME 2006 steering committee. “Indonesia remains to be one of the world’s great destinations even though its tourism sector has not yet been fully recovered after experiencing various setbacks for the last four years due to global problems.”
This year’s TIME will be held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the first city in the Eastern part of Indonesia to host the event. “Changing the venue every two years is very effective to promote every province in Indonesia to the international market. With more people coming, there will definitely be improvement in the infrastructure within the region and this will develop both tourism and its supporting industries,” she said.
Ever since its first conduct in 1994, TIME has been successful in projecting a positive image of Indonesia, which is a destination with great diversity. As Indonesia’s prime travel show, TIME accommodates the interests of those who sell Indonesia’s tourism products and services to international markets. The event will feature most of Indonesia’s tourist attractions, which include all popular tourist destinations, top tourist facilities available in the country as well as new products. 
Pontjo Sutowo, chairman of the ITPB said, “TIME has been organized to show our commitment to support our efforts to maintain Indonesia’s image in the international market place and continue promoting Indonesia’s tourism industry to the worldwide market.”
Visitors to the event include overseas buyers and the Indonesian travel trade. Figures were down at last year’s TIME, with 84 buyers from 23 countries and 126 sellers from 20 provinces, as compared with 2004 figures of 102 buyers from 28 countries and 147 sellers from 20 provinces.
“We are optimistic that Makassar will be able to entice more buyers and sellers to TIME this year since Makassar is the gateway to East Indonesia which has many tourist attractions. Moreover, this year TIME is held back to back with PATA Travel Mart,” said Meity.

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