DEEP Indonesia 2008 Coverage

Press Release 

DEEP INDONESIA 2008 – MUCH DEEPER THAN EVER – A POST SHOW REPORT
 
PT Exhibition Network Indonesia would like to thank all  exhibitors of DEEP Indonesia 2008 for helping to make this year’s event an even greater success than the first exhibition held last year.
 
The number of exhibitors increased to 80 with space taken also increasing by more than 25%. We also had more coverage in the water sports area with displays on fishing, kayaking, boating and surfing taking part in the show.
 
The first foreign Tourism Board to join DEEP Indonesia 2008 is the Sabah Tourism Board which add to the quality of the show as an international exhibition. There was also an increase in the number of tourism boards from local Regencies taking part with diving and water sports areas from Aceh to Papua and all areas in between being promoted, a testament to the importance these government agencies attach to expanding their efforts in marine tourism growth.
 
The number of visitors during the three days show also increased significantly with 10,250  people having registered , an increase of nearly 45% over last year’s show.
 
The show was officially opened by the Director General of Indonesian Department of Culture & Tourism, Mr. Firmansyah Rahim representing the Minister who was unable to attend due to unexpected circumstances. In his written message, he confirms that the ministry will continue to support the organizer in helping to promote and develop marine tourism industry.  Accompanying him was Prof. Syamsul Ma’arif representing Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries who is also as the present Chairman of Indonesian Sub Aquatic Sport Association (POSSI). Unfortunately, the Minister was also unable to attend but conveyed his written message to initiate the International Year of the Reef  2008 (IYOR ), a campaign to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs, and to further conserve and manage valuable coral reef and associated ecosystems.
 
The Opening Ceremony at the first day of the show was attended by approximately 200 invitees, including exhibitors representatives, business associates, government officials, and state representatives, among them was the Ambassador of the USA, H.E. Mr. Cameron R. Hume.
 
As held last year, our supporting events SCUBEX, a large tank that we purposely built as a diving trial for non divers, had attracted more enthusiasts this year.
The DEEP Underwater Film Festival in association with Celebrate the Sea Festival, as the perfect tool to show the beauty of the underwater world, featured Award Winners of Celebrate the Sea Festival and specially screened the most talked-about “Sharkwater” at the second day of the exhibition.
 
The Children’s Drawing & Coloring Contest as a concept to nurture and educate the children to the marine conservation were joined by almost 100 entries this year.
Our Seminars, Talk Shows, Workshops, Product Presentation program was expanded with  a large number of presentations being given by government bodies, diving associations, equipment manufacturers and many others, with more than 1000 people in attendance.
Underwater photography was given quite a portion this year. The well known DEEP Indonesia International Photo Competition in cooperation with DivePhotoGuide.com and WetPixel.com featuring  35 winning images of 7 categories. It had the same number of entries as last year however  the international  judges noted that the quality of the entries had shown a great improvement. There was also “UW Exposed” - an exhibition of underwater photo by Indonesian UW Photographer. A soft launch of the book “Nadine” by photographer Windiarto Tjandra and publisher Scuba Diver AustralAsia truly escalates Indonesian UW Photographer to another level of UW photography.
 
Our new event, the Digital Poster Competition attracted  300 entries with the 20 finalists being on display, this new event was restricted to university students and has been judged to be an excellent concept in promoting marine conservation amongst the new generation. The best entries will be used as COREMAP’s campaign for coral reef conservation and rehabilitation.
 
To welcome all exhibitors, the DEEP Indonesia Team prepared a Welcome Dinner Party hosted by the Department of Culture & Tourism Republic of Indonesia. The party which entertained by a special traditional dance performance was attended by approximately 200 invitees having an excellent evening.
 
Government Ministries now recognize the importance of DEEP Indonesia  to marine tourism and environment, especially the ocean environment in Indonesia through their increased support for the event and we are optimistic that this will continue to expand in coming years.
 
Last but not least, this year’s Best Stand Design goes to Suzuki Marine (stand no A3). As a token of appreciation, Suzuki Marine will get 5 (five) hanging banners at DEEP Indonesia 2009 free of charge. Congratulation to Suzuki Marine!
 
We would  like to take this opportunity to apologize to any exhibitors and visitors that may have been inconvenienced  before and during the event in any way, please rest assured that we will continue to improve our services to you to ensure that next year’s DEEP Indonesia 2009 will be an even greater success.
We would also like to express our appreciation to all our Sponsors, Media Partners and all parties that has given their valuable time and effort to the success of DEEP Indonesia 2008. We hope this will continue to ensure the success of DEEP Indonesia in future years.
 
 
 
Deeply Yours,
 
Dharmawan Sutanto
President Director