'Wonderful Indonesia' Tourism Promotion at Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing

(Reuters Photo/Thomas Peter)

Scenes from "Wonderful Indonesia," the country's official tourism marketing campaign, will be displayed on billboards at the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo until mid-July.

According to I Gde Pitana, deputy for marketing development at the Ministry of Tourism, Japan is a strategic location for promoting Indonesian tourism during the school summer holiday.

"Japan is a promotional site because it is the summer school holiday from July 21 to Aug. 31. It will also be a holiday for all Japanese people from Aug. 11 to 20," Pitana was quoted as saying in a statement received by Jakarta Globe on Saturday (17/06).

The scenic images of Indonesia's beautiful attractions were previously displayed in numerous locations across the globe, including Times Square in New York and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing is one of the busiest sites in the world, with more than 670,000 people passing the area every day. "This is a tourist attraction for foreign tourists visiting Japan," Pitana said.
However, the area not only popular with overseas visitors, but also locals. It is close to another famous tourism attraction, the Hachiko Memorial Statue, which celebrates a famous dog whose story has been adapted to movies.

The images displayed at Shibuya Crossing feature highlights from Banyuwangi in East Java, Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta and Nusa Penida in Bali. 

"The Tourism Ministry will continue to promote 'Wonderful Indonesia' in other countries, not only Japan. We will look for countries with high potential for travelers, as we are looking to attract more foreign tourists to Indonesia," Pitana said. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said Indonesia and Japan have a long diplomatic and historic relationship that will potentially attract more Japanese tourists to the country.

"We hope that with the history and diplomatic relations, these 'Wonderful Indonesia' promotions will pique the curiosity of the Japanese to come and see Indonesia for themselves," Arief said(JakartaGlobe)