Ankara, Turkiye – Collaborating with the Association of Indonesian Travel Companies (ASITA) and the Muslim Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI), the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara and the Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul held a socialization on travel safety to Turkiye (9/5). As Turkiye is one of the top destination for Indonesians along with the jargon “Cappadocia is my dream”, this online socialization was attended by more than 200 ASITA and AMPHURI representatives both via zoom and live streaming on Youtube @IndonesiainAnkara.
“The problem of traveling abroad is not a new thing for the Indonesian government. In 2018, the government has considered the issue of the safety of its citizens traveling abroad through the Safe Travel Indonesia application which was launched in 2018. To minimize the problems that have recently increased, we are keen to coordinate with travel agents in Indonesia to increase the safety and the comfort of traveling to Turkiye,” added the Indonesian Ambassador to Turkiye, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, who gave an opening at the webinar.
This webinar was attended by the Head of the AMPHURI DPP Tourism Sector, Masrura and the Chair of the Indonesia Tour Leaders Association, Reggy A. Kartawidjaja. During the Q and A session, both welcomed the proposal to form a working group consisting of travel-related stakeholders including airlines, to produce standard operating procedures for travel to Turkiye.
There are around 7 thousand Indonesians currently living in Türkiye. This figure is far less than the number of people visiting Turkey from January to March 2023, which is 150,000 people, for instance. Visits to Türkiye are generally for sightseeing and transit.
Based on the records of the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara and the Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul, the problems of Indonesian tourists in Turkiye are generally illness, accidents, loss of passports, neglect by travel agents, disruption of further travel, failure to enter Turkiye, overstaying and death. The Indonesian representatives in Turkiye made efforts to handle cases, facilitate the issuance of passports, coordinate with a number of stakeholders and socialize travel safety.
Source : Indonesian Ebassy
