Indonesia Announces 3 New Halal Tourism Packages At The Moscow Halal Expo

Indonesia launched new Halal tourism packages at the Moscow Halal Expo held between  November 16-18. The new offerings include Sail Sabang sailing event and Rapai Festival in Aceh, Shopping and Thousand Island in Jakarta, and a trip to Indonesia’s first Halal Beach in Banyuwangi.

           Mount Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia

The Halal Tourism Acceleration and Development Team of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia has been discussing the brand new Halal tourism packages with Russia-based outbound travel agencies to tweak the itineraries based on the travel preferences of Russian Muslims. The team, headed by Mr. Riyanto Sofyan, will also discuss cross-promotion opportunities between Russian and Indonesian travel companies.

“We have meetings lined up with some of the top Halal tourism agencies in Russia and look forward to productive discussions and to signing mutually beneficial agreements”.

“Our top Halal tourism destinations that are popular with Russian Muslims are Aceh, West Sumatera, and West Nusa Tenggara. These destinations are known for sight seeing, nature and scenery, adventure activities, as well as shopping,” said Mr. Sofyan.

Overall, Indonesia’s top Halal destinations are: (1) Lombok, which is renowned as a global Halal honeymoon destination; (2) West Sumatra, which is known for its exquisite Halal cuisine and natural  attractions; (3) Aceh, which  world renowned as a global Halal cultural destination; (4) Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia and the hub for leisure, especially shopping and visiting the beautiful Thousand Island; (5) West Java, which is best known for its natural attractions and is the go-to destination for adventure tourism.

International recognition is also growing for Indonesia’s Halal Tourism sector. During the World Halal Travel Awards 2015 in Abu Dhabi, Lombok was rated as The World’s Best Halal Tourism Destination and World’s Best Halal Honeymoon Destination and Sofyan Hotel in Jakarta won the World’s Best Family Friendly Hotel award. Subsequently, in 2016, Indonesia won 12 awards in the World Halal Travel Awards, including The World’s Best Halal Tourism Destination  and The World’s Best Halal Culinary Destination for West Sumatera, World’s Best Halal Cultural Destination for Aceh, and Sembalun Valley Region, Lombok was awarded as the World’s Best Halal Honeymoon Destination.

Russian tourists visit to Indonesia reached 96,329 tourists in 2014 . Russian Muslims accounted for 11.7% of that total, with 11,270 visitors.

Indonesia aims to attract 5 million Muslim visitors by 2019, thereby doubling its current number of Muslim visitors, and contributing to its 20 million international tourists by 2019 goal.