Indonesia’s Successful Participation at the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show 2024
Chicago, United States – Indonesia once again attracted the attention of visitors at the largest travel exhibition in the Midwest, the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show 2024 (CTAS 2024), held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Chicago (13-14/1).
The Indonesian booth was among the 257 booths at CTAS representing 157 sectors of the tourism industry (travel agencies, tour operators, hospitality, airlines, cruise ships, and tourism promotion offices) from 8 countries and 25 U.S. states. More than 200,000 visitors participated in CTAS this year.
“Indonesia’s participation in CTAS is an excellent opportunity to tap into the U.S. market through the promotion of Indonesian tourism to the local public because it is held at the beginning of the year before the spring holidays in March and April, and the interest and purchasing power of U.S. citizens for travel are increasing after the pandemic.
“Meanwhile, the provision of Visa-on-Arrival facilities and entering the conducive endemic era is expected to further increase the interest of tourists to visit, especially to destinations beyond Bali, although Bali remains one of the most frequently asked about tourist destinations at CTAS every year,” said Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Chicago, Listyowati.
During the two-day exhibition, visitors to the Indonesian booth were consistently busy, showing high interest and a strong desire to travel to Indonesia. “Many visitors asked about featured destinations other than Bali and planned to visit various other hidden gems in Indonesia in 2024. They were also enthusiastic about the numerous flight options available from the Midwest region to Indonesia,” said Novi, an agent from Bespoke Travel and Tour.
As in previous years, Indonesia’s participation focused on promoting tourism and Indonesian arts and culture. The Indonesian booth was arranged to showcase typical Indonesian accessories such as Bali umbrellas, batik, wayang (shadow puppets), dance masks, and a set of angklung (traditional musical instruments).
Additionally, various promotional materials for Indonesian tourism, such as tourism brochures and information on featured Indonesian tourist destinations, were displayed.
While visiting the Indonesian booth, Vice President for Sales at CTAS, John Spooner, conveyed to Consul General Listyowati that CTAS has been held for 19 years, and they have consistently collaborated and supported Indonesia in recent years, ready to collaborate for future activities.
Consul General Listyowati expressed appreciation to the CTAS organising committee for facilitating the promotion of Indonesian tourism and continuing to support the introduction of Indonesian arts and culture to the U.S. public.
Amidst the winter storm conditions in Chicago and extreme cold weather in January, the Consulate General of Indonesia in Chicago optimized CTAS by featuring Bespoke Travel and Tour, a travel agency from Yogyakarta.
In two days of the exhibition, they successfully attracted 70 potential buyers, received several tour package orders, and explored potential B2B collaborations expected to be sustainable.
The Consulate General of Indonesia in Chicago also utilised CTAS as a networking event and received collaboration offers from local media, travel bloggers, photographers, and tourism-related TV channels.
CTAS is a major international travel exhibition in the Midwest. Besides various tourism destination booths, CTAS 2024 also featured several other event segments, including the Water Sports Pavilion, which specifically showcased various exhibitors and booths related to water tourism and sports such as diving, SCUBA diving, recreational snorkelling, and paddleboarding.
Scheduled seminars and talk shows related to tourist destinations, travel, hobbies, professions, and cuisine were also held.
The Global Beats Stage presented various artistic and cultural performances from destinations worldwide.
KJRI Chicago invited CTAS visitors to get to know the beauty and diversity of Indonesian culture by showcasing three dances on the main stage of the Global Beats Stage at CTAS 2024, namely the Pendet dance, the Merak dance, and the Topeng dance.
According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf), the number of U.S. tourists visiting Indonesia in 2022 was 160,589, and there was an increase of 123% to 358,769 tourists in 2023.
Meanwhile, according to the latest data from BPS, the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia overall from January to November 2023 reached 10,409,411 tourists. This figure increased by 110.86% compared to the same period in 2022.
For 2024, Kemenparekraf targets an increase in the number of foreign tourist visits to reach 16 million tourists, with national revenue reaching 15 billion U.S. dollars.
Source: Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago
