SPECIAL interest tours are receiving new attention from outbound agents in Indonesia, who are eager to stand out from the crowd amid increasing competition.
At the sixth Indonesia Travel and Holiday Fair over the weekend, Smailing Tours was selling its new culinary tours to Thailand and Korea and a cycling tour to China. The agent will also soon launch a photography tour with a prominent Indonesian photographer.
Smailing Tours spokesman Wisnu Wardana said: “With increasing competition, we need to find ways to reach out to the market, and this is what we’re doing apart from maximising the use of social media.”
DeLana Tours and Travel has also come up with university tours, catering to out-of-town students and their families.
Director Gregorius Handoyo said: “Jogjakarta is known as the students’ city. We take students who are not familiar with the campuses for an orientation.”
He added that tours to Mount Merapi were also in demand, following the devastating eruption last year. Travellers are keen to see the impact, as well as participate in rebuilding and other community support programmes.
Handoyo also noted requests for cultural programmes, where participants could learn batik and traditional dance.
