Dear friends from tourism industry,

I am pleased to welcome all of you to Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) 2009 in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, located just east of Bali. My special thanks to the Organizing Committee of TIME for selecting Lombok as host of this year’s TIME since the island renowned in particular for its ecotourism and pearl attractions which will lure more visitors in the coming years.

I am optimistic that our tourism industry will remain strong this year despite of global financial crisis. In line with this, I strongly believe that TIME could provide an excellent opportunity for a dialogue and networking among tourism industry community in taking the utmost benefit of global tourism industry, particularly for the development of Indonesian tourism industry in the effort to continue projecting Indonesia as an attractive travel destination in the worldwide market.

This event signifies our common interest to promote Indonesian tourism industry in the global market which we all share together, and it is my pleasure that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism could be part of it.

It is my profound hope that we would be able to achieve what we have targeted for. I also hope that TIME 2009 in Lombok could contribute to the success of Visit Indonesia Year 2009.

Sincerely yours,

Jero Wacik
Minister of Culture & Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia