Tourism Ministry Showcases Bali's Unique Splendors at Berlin Garden Show

Tourism Ministry officials promoted the splendors of Bali's natural beauty and unique gardens at the International Garden Show in Berlin on May 9-10, in a bid to attract more European tourists to the country.

This week's event was hosted in the historical Marzahn Recreational Park, which was first inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the city's 750th anniversary.

Designed by German landscape architect Gottfried Funecke, the park encompasses more than 100 hectares and contains permanent displays of international pavilions, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic gardens.

Tourism Ministry marketing development deputy I Gde Pitana said in a statement on Thursday (11/05) that the Berlin exhibition was a great opportunity to showcase the beauty of Balinese gardens to European audiences.

"It was a great opportunity for us to promote the splendors of our own gardens in that beautiful park," Pitana said.
Pitana said the ministry's participation in the Berlin exhibition was part of the country's "Wonderful Indonesia" international marketing campaign to attract foreign tourists to the archipelago.
Nia Niscaya, the Tourism Ministry's marketing development assistant deputy for Europe, the Middle East, America and Africa, said the government expects the Wonderful Indonesia campaign to acquaint foreigners with the natural beauty of the country, thereby boosting international tourism.
"That is our goal," she said, adding that the government aims to attract up to 20 million foreign tourists to the country by 2019.

Last year, around 12 million foreigners visited destinations across the archipelago, up from just 10.4 million in 2015.
"The projected number of German tourists who will visit Indonesia in 2017 is likely to be about 306,000, compared to just 193,000 in 2015," Nia said.
Berlin's International Garden Show show began last month and will continue to host a series of events until October. (JakartaGlobe)