Executives from Indonesia’s national airline brainstormed with Pattaya travel agents about how to boost tourism with Thailand.
Ryanto A. Winarso, Garuda Indonesia’s general manager for Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, headed the June 19 meeting at the Holiday Inn Pattaya, also organized by Bhara Tours and Travel Bandung.
Winarso said Indonesia presents a great opportunity for travel agents. The country has a population of 261 million and, each year, about 200,000 of them travel to Thailand, principally Pattaya and Bangkok.
He said Indonesians like Pattaya because of its well-planned facilities, natural attractions and privately managed tourist spots.
They love going to different shows and cabarets, zoos, museums, and joining sports activities, the airline’s Thai sales manager, Somchai Attasivanon, said.
Conversely, travel agents in Pattaya were urged to sell more of Indonesia to Thais, organize more promotional tours and set up special fares to attract them to that country.
Indonesia has the most islands of any country in the world. Some very famous tourist destinations included Bali, Borobudur Park, Komodo National Park, Borneo and its orangutans, Gili Islands, Sacred Monkey Island, Mount Bromo, Tana Toraja, Kalimantan, Lake Toba, Mount Krakatau, Gurung Rinjani, Pura Tanah Lot, Banda Island, Baliem Valley and many more.
