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| Nasi Kuning (Source: Jakarta Post) |
“The event is supported by the French government alongside 50 other countries. The Indonesia Tourism Office [VITO] together with our partners will present Indonesian culinary, spa and culture to the public as a way to promote Wonderful Indonesia,” said VITO France’s Eka Moncarre.
Village International de la Gastronomie is the seventh edition of Fête de la Gastronomie, a project by the French Economy and Finance Ministry.
Last year the event attracted 30,000 visitors and this year it seeks to welcome 50,000 people. The entrance tickets are priced from €1 (US$1.19) to €4.
Tourism Ministry's deputy assistant for Europe, the United States, Middle East and Africa tourism promotion, Nia Niscaya, said Indonesia would play the Wonderful Indonesia tourism video and hand out information regarding Indonesian tourism during the event.
“There will be performances of Indonesian traditional dance for three days presented by a dance group in Paris, Balinese massage demo, pencak silat demo by Indonesian Pencak Silat group in France and VITO France Facebook photo competition,” added Nia.
Among the Indonesian delicacies set to be presented are rendang (beef simmered in coconut milk), sate ayam (chicken satay), nasi goreng (fried rice), bakmi goreng (fried noodles), nasi kuning (yellow rice) and traditional snacks.
France is a potential tourism market for Indonesia. With a population of 66 million people, its citizens reportedly were already quite familiar with Indonesian destinations.
“In 2017 Indonesia is among the top five most popular countries to visit for French tourists. Furthermore, no visa is required to visit Indonesia for 30 days,” said Nia.
France is one of the top three European countries, right after United Kingdom, that contributes the highest number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia.
Up to 250,920 French tourists visited Indonesia last year, a 20 percent increase from 2015. This year the ministry seeks to attract at least 330,000 people. (JakartaPost)