RIAUMAG.COM ——The Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) West Java Chapter’s West Java Travel Mart (WJTM) returned from September 10 to 13 after a three years hiatus due to the pandemic.
For the first time in the show’s history, the event was jointly organised with the Bandung NHI Polytechnic of Tourism, where lecturers and students were involved.
Budijanto Ardiansjah, chairman of ASITA West Java Chapter, said: “It all started when the Bandung NHI Polytechnic of Tourism organised its travel mart programme before the pandemic, where the event served as training for the students with ASITA members posing as buyers.
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“This time, (it was) a serious collaboration between the campus and ASITA – the event took place within their vicinity (and enabled) the students to participate and experience (the process) fully.”
Daniel Nugraha, chairman of the WJTM 2023 organising committee, said: “We not only involved the students with frontline tasks, but made them part of the organising committee, involving them in every step from the planning to execution process.”
More than 100 students took part under the supervision of their lecturers, which provided them with a real-time experience on how to run a trade show.
Also for the first time, WJTM invited several overseas NTOs and businesses from Malaysia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Turkey to participate as sellers, providing them with the opportunity to introduce new products and packages.
Daniel pointed out: “West Java has some 50 million residents. This is a big opportunity for travel agents, particularly for (post-) Umrah and Haj pilgrimage tours. However, West Java sellers still make up the majority, followed by those coming from other parts of Indonesia, and a small percentage of the overseas sellers.”
The show attracted a total of 121 buyers from across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, all of whom met with 60 sellers during a one-day, round-robin table top sessions.
Sellers included Dusun Bambu, a leisure facility spanning 15 hectares in Lembang, West Java, which reopened with culinary experiences in its four thematic restaurants, nature activities and staycations in traditional cottages, and glamping.
