Indonesia to promote coffee tourism in Norway

JAKARTA. Indonesian coffee tour packages are set to be promoted at Norway's largest tourism fair, Reiselivsmessen, on Jan. 15-17.

“The promotional event aims to introduce Indonesia's high-quality coffee beans from local farmers to Norwegian coffee lovers,” the Indonesian Embassy in Oslo's first secretary, Hartyo Harkomoyo, told Antara news agency on Thursday.

Tours slated to be promoted at the event include the Java Coffee Lover package and Yogyakarta Coffee and Heritage package in Central Java; Orangutans, Coffee and The Lake package in Sumatra; Coffee Lover Adventure package in Bali; and East Sumba Tour package in East Nusa Tenggara.

“We hope that through the crafted tour packages, coffee lovers will understand more about the coffee production process, from planting, harvesting and roasting the beans to brewing, in order to build appreciation and awareness of Indonesian coffee farmers and coffee's places of origin,” said Hartyo.

Coffee cupping sessions are set to be offered at the Indonesian booth to allow visitors to experience the taste and aroma of the archipelago's various coffees.

Partnering with the Norwegian Tourism Association, the Indonesian Embassy will also hold a session to present the coffee tour packages to the country's travel agents and travel writers.

According to Indonesian Ambassador to Norway Yuwono A. Putranto, the campaign was part of the embassy's efforts to promote Indonesia's natural tourism and to give Indonesian products the opportunity to penetrate the Norwegian market.

He explained coffee was an integral part of Norwegian social life, while coffee origins, flavors, natural conditions and farmers' welfare were of great importance to coffee lovers.

Among Indonesia's coffee beans that will be showcased at the festival are Gunung Arjuna Arabica from Java Aroma Coffee, Garut Arabica from Mahkota Coffee, Java Preanger Arabica from Hikmah Farm and Mandhaeling Arabica from Green Indonesia.

Norway is considered a potential tourism market for Indonesia because of Norwegian people's avid traveling tradition and high tourist expenses compared to travelers from other EU countries and worldwide.

Reiselivsmessen reportedly attracts over 45,000 visitors from the Scandinavian region and around the globe each year. The event regularly promotes thousands of travel packages from over 120 countries.