Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine September 2016 | Page 141

Garuda Indonesia

139

LOVE (APPARENTLY)
FROM THE STOMACH!
By Hermawan Kartajaya,
Founder and Chairman of MarkPlus, Inc.

As the famous saying goes,
‘From the eyes down to the
heart’, which means the first
impression is cast by the
looks and then love from
the heart happens.
In following this idea, several tourist
destinations are ‘dressed up’ to look more
attractive in order to accentuate their appeal
for potential tourists. Thus, not surprisingly,
the most commonly used way of promoting
any tourist area is through photos and videos.
Especially in today’s times, when social media
is increasingly popular globally.
However, not content with visual media only,
several tourist destinations are promoted
through organising various events, whether
it is an exhibition or a special programme to
promote the activities and culture of an area.
This approach is not limited to exploiting the
visual appeal of a destination but also relies
on human-to-human interactions with
potential tourists.
In addition to these methods, other ways
can be utilised to promote a destination.
For instance, in order to attract travellers’
attention, we can use culinary media.
This approach is actually very effective,
because a lot of people (especially tourists)
are indeed interested in trying new, unique
foods. And if they taste good, people also
tend to remember the types of food
eaten at specific tourist destinations.

And not just taste. The food is also
influenced by the culinary culture of a
region. The ‘pull factor’ therefore may not
be limited to the ‘end result’ in the form of
taste. It could also be in the method of
preparation or the way it is served. For
instance, the tea ceremony in Japan and
China has a deep cultural significance for
which it is widely popular in other countries.
Thus, promotion of a destination through
culinary tourism is easy, inexpensive and
highly effective. And this definitely represents
a big opportunity for Indonesia to promote
itself internationally. Indeed, there are already
some food items from Indonesia famous
internationally, such as coffee from Java, and
Sumatra, and the most famous Luwak coffee.

As a real-world example, Indonesian
people are already quite familiar with pizza,
originated in Italy, or noodles, which come
from China, as well as the Korean kimchi.
Even though not everyone who knows about
these food items has been to their places
of origin, many already associate these
foods with the destinations in their minds.

But we know there is still plenty of original
culinary wealth from Indonesia that can be
put to good use. In terms of variety itself,
there is a great deal of diversity in regional
cuisines, not to mention the different culinary
traditions. Such an initiative to promote
Indonesia’s culinary wealth can begin
with foods that foreign travellers may likely
be familiar with, such as satay and gado-gado,
though it is also possible to introduce some
modifications in accordance with consumers’
tastes and preferences, but of course
without changing the original character.

Let’s take the category of noodles for
example. Available in different regions,
having different tastes and appearances,
and with different methods of preparation.
Noodles originated in China but, when
brought to Italy, became spaghetti and now
come in different styles. Moreover, in Japan,
we know them as ramen and jajangmyeon
in Korea. Although the category is similar,
they all differ a lot in taste.

That’s because the underlying traditions
and philosophies behind many of the
archipelago’s culinary delights bear a deep
meaning. Examples include the Javanese
style of serving a tea pot with rock sugar
on the side. A common mistake often made
when enjoying this tea is that the rock sugar
in fact should not be stirred. Also the spices
and ingredients in rendang each have a
specific meaning. This philosophy is actually

quite interesting but not widely known.
Unfortunately Indonesia’s own local people
also often do not understand these things,
though there are so many interesting
things to explore.
We should try to change this mindset
and not only become consumers of
foreign foods but also ‘exporters’ of
our local culinary art internationally.
By promoting the uniqueness of our culinary
tourism, we can attract even more foreign
visitors. It could not only make them fall
in love with our food but also make tourists
curious to dig deeper into the philosophy
behind it.
Indonesian cuisine has big potential.
In the past, Indonesia’s herbs and spices
attracted Europeans. Now it can also
attract many people from around the world.
For example, rendang was voted one of
the most delicious foods in the world
in a survey by CNN.
Therefore, love is not always from the eyes,
but also from the stomach. WOW!