AMID the economic chatter across the world, Asia remains the growth story while other continents tend to look on in envy. What happens in China may dominate the headlines, but multinationals can’t resist sizing up Southeast Asia. There are strong signs that Indonesia is another of what Napoleon called a Sleeping Giant. Like China it will rise to reap what comes in the wake of investment. And this includes a demand for conference and incentive travel.
Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali has long been the destination of choice for business events, but now Java – the archipelago’s most populous island – is ready to offer organisers and their groups a choice to be near multinational headquarters with excursions to amazing sights and cooler climes.
Business event products on Java, including Jakarta and Bandung, were recently highlighted by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism in an itinerary starting with Surabaya, which provides a gateway to the volcanic visitas of Mount Bromo…
SURABAYA & MOUNT BROMO
East Java’s commercial hub has long been Surabaya. Traders from China, Southeast Asia and worldwide settled in the port city and aspects of their culture are still visible today in the historic Arab Quarter and Chinatown. These days it’s about modern investments, as seen with the range of banking and corporate logos hailing from China, Singapore and western multinationals. To Surabaya’s southeast is Bali while the mesmerising volcanic mountains and savannahs of Bromo-Tengger Semeru National Park are about a 2.5 hour drive south.
Underpinning these assets of business and natural heritage is modern history. Surabaya is a city that pioneered Indonesian independence. Today it is leveraging its location and forward-thinking attitude to further develop as a destination for business events with sizeable venues and access to post-meeting tours and recreation.
HOTELS
Vasa Surabaya
Modern developments that form part of Surabaya’s central business district are a convenient 20km from Juanda International Airport. One of the properties serving the city’s new era is Vasa Hotel Surabaya, which has some 1,400 square metres of three across levels.
Vasa Surabaya has made MICE and group travel a speciality by hosting groups of between 10 – such as executive meetings – to events for 1,800 delegates using its Grand Ballroom and 11 meetings rooms accessible via escalator from the lobby.
Open-event space at Vasa Tower with views over Surabaya’s green belt and a transparent wedding chapel that can be adapted for business events.
The wow factor continues with experiences such as the Presidential suite with its own infinity swimming pool, to authentic Brazilian cuisine at Chamas Brazilian Churrascaria, the Chinese restaurant, Xiang Fu Hai, and more.
LARGE VENUES
Dyandra Convention Centre
This multifunctional venue opened in in 2008 to host large events in a city centre location with the Sugar Expo along with other mega shows held each year. Facilities cater to 30-person meetings right up to events for 5,000 including banquets.
Two main convention halls can be opened up into one, or each divided into two, while a 856 sqm foyer serves as a pre-function area with daylight.
Adjacent to the conventions section is the Grand Ballroom of 2,752 sqm, which can be converted into three spaces. Rooms for executive meetings are also available.
Grand City Convex
Also in the city centre, about a 10 minute drive from Dyandra, is the Grand City Convex – the largest venue of its type in East Java with the added attraction of a direct link to
Grand City Mall
The three levels of event space at Grand City Convex can be easily accessed from the second level of Grand City Mall, a facility with six levels of retail and dining outlets.
The Exhibition Hall on the ground floor provides reinforced space for heavy-duty products ranging from machinery to trucks and cars. A convention hall and 10 meeting rooms are on the third level while the Grand Ballroom is on the fourth.
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EXCURSIONS
Surabaya is a bustling city, which group organisers can expect as Java thrives, but there is also access to captivating sights such as the volcanic mountains and landscapes of Mount Bromo.
Plataran Bromo Resort
A three-hour drive on the highway out of Surabaya and upwards through hillside villages is Plataran Bromo Resort a luxury getaway amid verdant and mountain landscapes with a Jeep Checkout facility from which to plan sunrise tours.
Plataran Bromo also offers an idyllic location for executive retreats, an enviable teambuilding location, boardroom meeting spaces and fine Indonesian dining. The Putri Dewi Amphitheatre provides a picturesque setting for presentations with a backdrop that would look superb in the company brochure.
An experience visitors should not miss, however, are the jeep tours to Mount Bromo 16km away, and the option of an early morning hike to catch the spectacular sunrises. For those non-early birds, sunset views from the terrace of the resort’s Executive Lounge, are on offer.
An early start is recommended when taking the jeeps to the savanna beneath Mount Bromo. With an estimated 2,000 jeeps plying their trade in the area, taking the journey mid-morning offers another amazing sight: seemingly endless lines of those very jeeps navigating their way up and down the mountainside.
Discerning Indonesian travellers would be familiar with Plataran’s properties. The brand’s environmental ethos and mission involves introducing visiting groups to the country’s wondrous natural heritage.
As part of Plataran’s Encounters programme, guided sunrise tours of the Bromo Highlands are organised. Itineraries can include sunrise at Penanjakan Peak, before the descent to the volcanic sands of Bromo for a picnic breakfast followed by a hike to the mountain’s caldera and the sacred temple of Poten.
Being mesmerised by volcano views is not the only activity for groups around Bromo. From Plataran’s Tengger Caldera Wonders there is a “Farmer for a Day” experience on the plots growing produce from potatoes, apples, chilli peppers, cabbages and herbs with a chance to meet the proud and sturdy locals of Gunung Bromo.
