Sarawak eyes stronger Indonesia tourism ties through Surabaya, Jakarta engagement sessions

STB representatives with Tourism Malaysia Jakarta and industry partners in a photo op with Indonesian travel trade partners at a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, for direct business engagement and networking session on Sept 30, 2026.

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Oct 2: Sarawak tourism businesses and Indonesian travel trade partners explored opportunities for new travel packages, joint promotions, and improved connectivity through a two-city business-to-business (B2B) engagement held in Surabaya and Jakarta.

According to a media release, the ‘Sarawak: Gateway to Borneo Business Networking Session (B2B) Indonesia 2026’, organised by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), brought tourism industry representatives from both sides together for direct business discussions on Sept 28 (Monday) in Surabaya and Sept 30 (Wednesday) in Jakarta.

The sessions went beyond destination promotion by giving tourism businesses a platform to exchange market insights, understand traveller interests, and identify potential areas for collaboration.

The programme featured destination and airline updates, Sarawak tourism product presentations, and one-to-one business matching, with discussions covering potential travel packages, joint promotional opportunities, connectivity and wider trade collaboration.

For STB, the engagements form part of a longer-term effort to build on a relationship that extends beyond geographical proximity.

Tourism Malaysia also supported the programme by bringing together Indonesian travel trade partners for the engagements.

STB ASEAN & Domestic marketing director Gustino Basuan said Indonesia remained an important market for Sarawak and a close regional tourism partner because of longstanding cultural, historical and geographical connections, particularly through Borneo.

“Indonesia is an important market for Sarawak, but just as importantly, it is a close regional tourism partner. We share longstanding cultural, historical and geographical connections, particularly through Borneo, and there is an opportunity for our tourism industries to build on those strengths together,” he said.

Basuan said Sarawak also saw potential for both destinations to complement each other’s strengths as Sarawak positioned itself as the ‘Gateway to Borneo’.

“Through continued engagement, we hope to explore opportunities that can benefit businesses on both sides while giving travellers more reasons to discover the wider region,” he added.

The B2B sessions also gave Sarawak businesses opportunities to better understand the Indonesian market, develop tourism products, and explore distribution channels, while Indonesian travel partners gained exposure to Sarawak experiences that could cater to their respective customer segments.

STB said the engagements formed part of its longer-term effort to strengthen industry connections with Indonesia and create opportunities for collaboration beyond destination awareness.

Moving forward, STB said it would continue building on the connections established in Surabaya and Jakarta while exploring potential partnerships with travel trade players met during the sessions. — DayakDaily