Business event products beyond Bali are being highlighted by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism. Watch out for the East Java commercial hub of Surabaya with access to the volcanic vistas of Mount Bromo, while Jakarta and Bandung make another ideal itinerary pairing for conference and incentive groups. We conclude our series in Bali, but first…
JAKARTA & BANDUNG
Two projects are bringing Indonesia’s progress and Java’s potential for international business events into focus: the high-speed train service between Jakarta and Bandung, and the Nusantara International Convention Centre being built in the northern part of the national capital. They also provide a clearer vision of Indonesia’s role in the China-led Belt and Road trade and development initiative.
The high-speed rail link began operations in 2023 and was developed with the China Railway Engineering Corporation through a joint venture majority owned by Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). The Whoosh, as it’s called locally, reduces the travel time between the two cities from nearly three hours by road to about 50 minutes. Whoosh comes from the Indonesian initials for Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal.
Nusantara International Convention Exhibition (NICE)
Another symbol of Indonesia’s forward-thinking strategy in becoming an active corporate events destination is the Nusantara International Convention Exhibition complex in Pantai Indah Kapuk district, a few minutes’ drive from the new PIK2 complex.
Being built on 40 hectares of land (about 40 football pitches), NICE will be lndonesia’s largest business event facility and is expected to begin operations in September 2025, with two adjoining international hotels to follow. NICE is being constructed through a joint venture with another Chinese company – this time the China State Construction Overseas Development Shanghai. The project is taking shape in a maritime district, bringing high-end residential and business facilities to north Jakarta’s waterfront. Opportunities for organisers seeking new conference destinations, within a shorter drive from Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, are set to follow.
NICE’s main facility will feature three exhibition buildings with 11 halls surrounded by green space. A leasable area of about 120,000 sqm, with a grand atrium of about 3,200 sqm, an 18,200 sqm pre-function area and retail space are also on the way. A 9,800 sqm courtyard will also emphasise green space and opportunities for the outdoor, festival-type events so popular in Indonesia.
HOTELS:
Swissotel PIK2
This Accor branded 412-guest room property has taken pride of place for accommodation and event space in this part of north Jakarta. The hotel is located 15 minutes from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with the Airport Highway and Outer Ring Road Highway bringing international delegates closer to PIK2 with adjoining retail and dining. The NICE business events complex along with golf courses, restaurants, offsite venues and more outdoor recreation options also form an integral part of the PIK2 area.
Event facilities at Swissotel PIK2 include nine meeting rooms, two lounges, an amphitheatre and stylish pre-function areas. It also offers the largest hotel ballroom in north Jakarta with a capacity for up to 3,000 guests.
Alila SCBD Jakarta
Jakarta has two of Hyatt’s Alila brands, and one is found in a precinct that gives the Alila SCBD the initials in its title: Sudirman Central Business District, which is also home to the Jakarta stock exchange. Big names from the world of international finance share the neighbourhood with The Langham and Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place among the other luxury hotels.
Planners of smaller business conferences, team building or events that don’t require a grand ballroom will find the Event Gallery on the third level to their liking with its modern style and fine views of the corporate precinct outside. The Alilia SCBD has 227 guest rooms and suites.
LARGER VENUES
Jakarta International Expo
If big conference and exhibition centres in Southeast Asia have their equivalent to the grand dames of the hotel world, at least two of them are in Jakarta.
JI Expo – or the Jakarta International Expo – was built in 1992 with a focus on hosting industrial exhibitions. The 2,500-seat Convention Centre Theatre was added for plenaries and to host Broadway-style musicals as the genre gained popularity in Southeast Asia. The venue is also a stop on the annual Java Jazz Festival.
“All in One Place” is the marketing slogan adopted by JI Expo with the venue’s entire area hosting events ranging from mega-exhibitions, concerts, meetings and conferences.
Jakarta Convention Centre
The sister grand dame would be JCC, which was established in 1992 to host 62 world leaders for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, and to meet the growing demand for business events space in central Jakarta. The venue has since hosted Asia Pacific conferences by the likes of UFI (Global Association of Exhibition Organisers) and political heavyweights from APEC and Asean.
The venue’s space and flexibility layout, however, is seen with the annual Indonesian Crafts Fair that brings buyers and suppliers from across Southeast Asia. The Plenary Hall can provide seating for up to 5,000 with the Assembly Hall and the Cendrawaih Room flexible enough to host a range of events ranging from conferences and galas to the much-loved national crafts fair each year.
Gelora Bung Karno
One of Jakarta’s green lungs surrounds Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), the capital’s main sports and open-air event complex, overlooked by the city’s stadium. GBK covers an area of 279-plus hectares and its facilities have hosted events ranging from the Pope’s visit in September 2024 to stadium concerts by big names such as Coldplay.
GBK and its treelined walkways play a crucial role in environmental conservation is crucial for Jakarta with 84 per cent of the area designated as “green lung” open space.
EXCURSIONS
Jakarta Old Town
To ready your group to stride across the old town square to the Old Town’s Fatahillah Museum, let them enjoy lunch or dinner at a classic Dutch-style restaurant that bears the colonial name for Jakarta: Cafe Batavia. The restaurant and bar features jazz during the evening and captures the period between the world wars with framed photographs of film stars from Hollywood and Europe adorning the walls.
Fatahillah Museum is housed in one of the well preserved, Dutch-colonial buildings that surround the town square and characterise the rest of Jakarta Old Town in the Kota Tua area of the city. Fatahillah, housed in the former Dutch governor residence complete with bell tower, traces Jakarta’s history from neolithic times through to attempts to make Batavia the Amsterdam of Southeast Asia, to the collapse of colonial rule and the rise of the Indonesian republic.
The former Palace of Justice building to the right of the history museum is now home to Museum Seni Rupa Dan Keramic with galleries showing traditional crafts, ceramics and paintings depicting scenes from Indonesia’s independence struggle and the work of contemporary artists. Museum Wayang, in the same building, features Java’s most prized collection of the flat wooden puppets that give this section of the museum its name. Free wayang performances are occasionally held.
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
To understand more about Indonesia’s cultural and natural diversity, it’s worth taking your groups to tour a mini version of the archipelago. The 100-hectare Mini Indonesia features replicas of village houses, temples and ancient sites giving a glimpse of traditional life and culture in the country’s 34 provinces, ranging from the regions of Sumatra, through Java, to Bali, Papua and elsewhere. Stealing the show, however, is the park’s zoo with the famed Komodo Dragons among its reptiles and an amphitheatre showing the swooping antics of Indonesia’s birds of prey.
Sections of the park can be hired by corporate groups with catering available and the use of electric transport to make the most of Taman, or “Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park”.
BANDUNG
Students of modern infrastructure may recognise Bandung as the Whoosh high-speed train destination from Jakarta. The city has long been known for its technology university, architecture and as a home for artists. Bandung and its hilly surroundings have also been a summer retreat since Dutch colonial times and is still today a haven for visitors seeking to relax amid hot springs, mountain vistas and tea plantations.
When Indonesia took its place in the world as an independent republic, Bandung put the historic venue of Gedung Merdeka to use for the 1955 Africa-Asia conference. National flags lining the stage and the hall itself are maintained and group visits can be arranged which also take in the Asia Afrika Museum.
HOTELS
Bandung has more than 400 hotels ranging from budget accommodation to the more high end, including the historic Savoy and international brands.
InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar
With mountain views, its own 18-hole golf course and a Grand Ballroom that can hold up to 3,000 guests, IHG can certainly cater to large groups with a sister property, Hotel Indigo Bandung, on the same complex as the 225-guest room and suite InterContinental. Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza are the other IHG brands in Bandung.
Six meeting rooms are located on the fifth level of InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar with three providing daylight. The Grand Ballroom, which can be divided into three spaces, also has an outside terrace and is accessible from the hotel’s driveway.
Outdoor venues at the InterContinental Bandung can cater for up to 1,200 guests. Dining options make the most of the mountain views and horse-riding is among the weekend activities along the foothills. There is a stylish rooftop bar, along with the Chinese restaurant Tian Jing Lou, while al fresco tables at the Damai provide more of those verdant vistas.
Trans Convention Centre and Hotel
Indonesian tourism and hospitality company Trans operates the Trans Studio Bandung complex where the Trans Convention Centre is found alongside The Trans Luxury Hotel. The hotel’s Grand Ballroom hosted the CNN West Java Awards 2024 with the 282-guest room property winning the Most Exceptional Service and Customer Trust for Luxury Hotel title.
For large-scale events, the adjoining Trans Convention Center provides 2,350 sqm of space plus a pre-function area of 900 sqm.
The hotel’s rooftop bar, aptly named The 18th, provides sunset views over Bandung and the mountainside with a skywalk at one end of the terrace giving a vertical view – 18 floors down.
UNIQUE VENUES
Plataran Bandung
West Java’s newest dining and function venue is found in Bandung’s historical government district next to Gedung Sate, the colonial-style provincial government headquarters. Plataran Bandung’s décor and furnishings emphasise Javanese elegance. Conventions for groups of up to 600 delegates can be accommodated, but smaller gatherings are also welcome.
EXCURSIONS
Bandros City Tour
With a choice of open-top double-deckers or single-decker buses modelled on a vintage tram, the Bandros City Tour complete with multilingual guides takes in the Gedung Sate building – dating back to the 1920s; the Asia Afrika Museum, Braga Street – famous for its colonial buildings, art galleries and cafes – with the Hotel Savoy Homann also on the route.
