Bandung's potential as a MICE destination

By: Iwan Suci Jatmiko

Over the passage of time, meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) have become one of the important elements in the development of tourism in Indonesia.
Although one may get the impression that it is rather late for MICE activities to boost Indonesia's tourism, recently there have been various occasions that have substantially boosted the country's tourism through MICE activities.
Indeed, in advanced countries, this type of tourism has developed over a long time. The rapid growth of MICE activities has been prompted by the fact that the door to international trade has been more widely opened and that information technology and transportation have also developed fast.
A legendary MICE event was once held in Bandung, namely the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955. This was followed by various other international activities, such as the Games of the New Emerging Forces (Ganefo) in 1960 and a PATA conference in 1963. Since 1968, the Jakarta Fair has been held. A number of prestigious conferences in Indonesia have also been organized, such as the OPEC Summit in Bali (1974) and the APEC Summit Conference in Bogor (1995).
MICE is an element of the tourism service business, which encompasses the convention service business, intensive tours and exhibitions. The nature of a convention is to bring together a number of people or groups for a discussion. The common thread of these activities is tourism. Bandung in West Java is one of the country's MICE destination cities.West Java Year 2008" is part of the "Visit Indonesia Year 2008" and it is the right momentum to boost MICE tourism in Bandung and its surroundings. There is a saying that God was smiling when He created Bandung and therefore the city is charming, in terms of nature and culture.
Indeed, Bandung is one of the top tourist spots in West Java. Recently, it has been very difficult to find a hotel room in Bandung on weekends without an advanced booking.
The reason is that the marketing network for hotels in Bandung extends not to only Jakarta and cities in Java and Bali but also to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand and a number of other advanced countries in North America, Europe and the Middle East.
As a result, to attract domestic and foreign tourists, there are plans to build 13 new hotels in Bandung this year. With the addition of the new hotels, the number of rooms will reach some 12,000.
"In 2007, some two million tourists, 10 percent of whom were foreign tourists, came to Bandung. We hope that this figure will continue to rise.
This year it is hoped it will reach six to 10 million tourists," Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada told reporters in a ceremony marking the laying of the cornerstone for the construction of the Cihampelas Extension on Jl. Cihampelas recently.
It is true that more tourists come to Bandung on weekends and public holidays. On weekdays, the city tends to be void of tourists. This condition, however, may lead to efforts to maximize convention facilities at hotels. The earnings from such conventions are reportedly considerable. Sometimes they are three times as much as the earnings from visitors that spend the night at the hotels.
The people who come to Bandung may savor the beauty of Bandung, which, like tourist cities in advanced countries, offers its own characteristics in a variety of forms such as the Priangan (West Javanese) people, exotic souvenirs and shopping choices ranging from factory outlets to malls as well as the city's varied cuisine, entertainment, spas, tourist sites and locations with historical value.
This means that Bandung has much to offer visitors.
Take, for example, Saung Angklung Mang Udjo, the angklung center. Since it was first opened to the public several years ago, one million foreign tourists have visited it to see performances and how the traditional bamboo Sundanese instrument is made. Bandung can also boast a number of international-class golf courses, all earning kudos from foreign tourists.
Besides the cool weather and the hospitality of its residents, Bandung has strategic access to communications facilities, which has encouraged residents from various cities in Java to visit Bandung. This is especially the case with Jakarta residents because it takes less than two hours to drive to Bandung.
"Visit West Java Year has been warmly welcomed by the communities of various cities in West Java. The reason is that this program not only features a parade of art and cultural works from various regions in West Java, but that it is also highlighted by art performances from 12 of Indonesia's provinces.
The fact that West Java can boast various forms of art and culture can serve as a yardstick to gauge the readiness of the province in supporting the central government's program to make tourism a strong foreign-exchange earner.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik also praised the capability of West Java to develop its tourism potential so that it will have a direct impact on the community.
"In my judgment, West Java's potential must now be reckoned with in the organization of other MICE events. While before I thought the potential of MICE events could be tapped only in Jakarta and Bali, it turns out that Bandung is also capable of organizing such events," said the minister of culture and tourism.

Source: The Jakarta Post, Thu, 05/15/2008