Indonesia Spices Up Tourism to Attract French Visitors with New Glossy 'Bumbu'

KOMPAS.com – A newly-published French magazine Bumbu (Spice) is the latest push by the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to promote Indonesian tourism.

Bumbu is the first French-language magazine covering the topics of Indonesian food and culinary culture.

It is the tourism ministry’s latest Indonesian foray into culinary diplomacy.

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Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Deputy of Marketing Nia Niscaya hopes that Indonesian food can be used as a soft diplomacy tool to attract visitors to travel to Indonesia.

“Indonesian tourism is hoped to be top of mind in terms of attracting future tourists namely in France,” Nia said.

Bumbu is the byproduct of a partnership between the Visit Indonesia Tourism Office in France and the Bumbu team based in Indonesia.

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Bumbu magazine aims to attract French tourists to visit Indonesia.

Nia Niscaya said Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest producers of spices. As such, Indonesian food is renowned for its unique flavor.

In 2017, CNN ranked Indonesian food at the top as one of the most delicious food in the world.

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A famous Indonesian dish, rendang, took the number-one spot with Indonesian fried rice coming in second, and Indonesian chicken skewers in 14th position.

“We have a wide variety of food and cuisine that has extraordinary flavors. Of course, Indonesian food can stand out among other cuisines in the world,” said Nia.

The magazine is managed by Visit Indonesia Tourism Office’s Eka Moncare.

Eka said the magazine’s concept is to use food to tell a story. These are mosaic pieces to paint a full picture of Indonesia’s culinary scene and food culture.

Bumbu’s two objectives are to first promote Indonesia’s culinary traditions and culture.

It also seeks to showcase how the evolution of food around the world influenced Indonesia’s food scene.

“The stories in Bumbu are like the face of Indonesian cuisine and its people,” said Eka.

Bumbu also features personal stories in its culinary tales enhancing the narrative to bring people closer together through food.

“The biggest hope for Bumbu is that the magazine becomes an entry point for Indonesian food to be recognized in French society, that Indonesia is a country of worldly gastronomy,” said Eka. 

(Writer: Inang Jalaludin Shofihara | Editor: Mikhael Gewati) 

Source: https://travel.kompas.com/read/2020/06/30/201452827/promosi-wisata-lewat-kuliner-majalah-digital-bumbu-segera-terbit-di-pranci