The countdown for TIME 2023 on the Island of the Gods began.

“Indonesia’s most popular tourist destination, Bali, is “getting the honour” of hosting another prestigious international event”, said Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, Chair of the Bali Tourism Board.

TIME 2023 is the first Global Tourism SME Executive Summit by the World Tourism Network (WTN). It will be taking place at the Renaissance Resort and Spa, Uluwatu, Bali, on September 29–30, 2023.

This summit will highlight the essential role that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) play in the global travel and tourism industries.

The Hawaii-based founder and chair of WTN, Juergen Steinmetz, said: “We’re very excited to meet in Bali and learn from our Indonesian friends about their challenges, achievements, and plans in including SMEs in their prominent role within their overall tourism structure. I am hopeful our first executive summit will be more than inspiring and will lay the foundation of numerous new WTN interest groups and activities.”

“We also hope members of the tourism industry in Bali will join WTN in record numbers, to enable Indonesia to play a leading role in our global structure.” he added.

TIME 2023 will bring its international key executives to Bali to share ideas and discuss initiatives with fellow members, specifically those that are part of the Indonesian WTN Chapter. Currently, 27 international delegates will bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and creative ideas to the discussion.

Previously in January, during his speech at the official launching of TIME 2023 Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (MOTCE) of the Republic of Indonesia Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno underlined the importance of SMEs in the tourism sector.

“Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, and SMEs play one of the most important roles. TIME 2023 will demonstrate how smaller players in the travel and tourism industry can interact and partner with big players. Through this event, they will be able to build business networks and share experiences. This event will also accentuate the importance of retaining the workforce during tourism recovery. Considering the workforce retention issues that occur in some countries, taking all the necessary means to support SMEs has once again found its relevance.”

The Minister, Sandiaga Uno, is expected to officially open the summit on September 29, two days after World Tourism Day. Along with MOTCE, the summit is also supported by the Bali Tourism Board, PATA Indonesia, PHONUS, and Marriott Hotels Indonesia.

Mudi Astuti, Chair of the Indonesia Chapter said: “We worked very hard to present a different event. WTN is not about speeches, it’s about exchanging ideas, advocating, and joining the action for the benefit of SMEs in our sector. We hope to lay a foundation of this in Bali and encourage everyone to join us as WTN members and if you can of course also at TIME 2023.”

The focus for WTN delegates is to give SMEs a voice in the global structure of the industry and to ensure they have a seat on the table in policy discussions by the public sector and means to community, and coordinate with the larger members of the industry. WTN sees the KEK Medical Tourism Project in Sanur, Bali as an excellent role model for establishing such cooperation between SMEs and the development of a major tourism project.

Various figures in the travel and tourism industries are expected to attend.

They will come with their respective businesses namely presenting their study on Bali, sharing knowledge on safety and security in tourism, laying out the small islands’ view on tourism, opening the first global resilience centre for ASEAN in Bali, and also looking to establish both inbound and outbound business with Indonesia since the highest goal for WTN is to help members to generate business.

The success of TIME 2023 will serve as another solid platform for establishing Indonesia as a leading MICE destination.

On previous occasions, Indonesia has proven its worth by successfully hosting the G20 in Bali in November 2022 and the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo in May 2023.

The Tourism Hero Award will be awarded during a Bali Style Gala dinner on September 29.