MICE has been placed at the forefront of Indonesia’s tourism policy, as its Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wishnutama Kusubandio has revived the directorate that manages the country’s business events industry.

During the Indonesia Professional Organizer Summit (IPOS) Vol. 6 held in Jakarta on November 25, Wishnutama said: “I ensure that events and MICE will get special attention from us. (As such), within the new organisational structure within the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE), we will appoint a special deputy who will focus on developing tourism products, events, and MICE.”

During the opening of the summit, the founder of IPOS, Harry D Nugraha, also handed the minister a proposal, entitled Indonesia First. The proposal, Harry revealed, contained a variety of thoughts and three recommended programmes by the participants of IPOS and members of the Indonesia Event Industry Council (IVENDO) to accelerate the development of MICE in Indonesia.

“These programmes are tactical and they can be implemented immediately,” he said.

The proposal also highlighted the importance of synergy between society, destination, and marketing. Society referenced actions to raise awareness around the importance of MICE, which would in turn help develop destinations, while marketing referenced efforts to strengthen Indonesia’s position in the eyes of the international business events market.

Wishnutama added that his decision to put MICE back in the spotlight was in line with president Joko Widodo’s belief in the industry’s important role in bettering the Indonesian economy. For one, it helps to create jobs while contributing to more foreign exchanges.

Under Joko’s leadership, MoTCE has also been tasked with creating a medium-term Integrated Tourism Masterplan that will be in effect until 2024, and a long-term plan that will be in effect until 2045. The masterplans will include the mapping of potential MICE events, among other issues.

Wishnutama has also voiced his commitment to prioritise not only quantity, but also quality, when it comes to developing the country’s tourism. “A business events delegate can spend three- to four-times more than a leisure tourist. The larger the amount they spend, the larger the contribution to the nation’s economy,” he pointed out.

Business events, Wishnutama added, would also open doors for local players from 16 subsectors of the creative economy industry, ranging from culinary to fashion, to promote their products on the international stage.

Large-scale international sporting events – such as the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship, MotoGP races, and the U-20 soccer World Cup in 2021 – are on Wishnutama’s mind too, as these will draw foreign tourists to Indonesia’s shores.

“We are also approaching (various companies to put ourselves forward) as hosts for big events, such as the MTV World Stage that we have proposed for Bali. (Also), the president has asked us to prepare Labuan Bajo as the venue for ASEAN Summit and G20 Summit in 2023,” he revealed.

IPOS’ Harry is confident that the country’s business events industry will have a bright future ahead, once the directorate of event and MICE is formed.

He hopes that the deputy who leads the directorate will be someone who has the willingness to prioritise mutual assistance in working to reach a common goal, and did not mind if the deputy was an official from MoTCE, but he or she had to form a team that also involved industry players.

“(Overall), the team must be experienced, and have the capacity and capability to immediately run, as Indonesia has a lot of catching up to do to be on par with other countries in the business events sector,” opined Harry.