ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY THROUGH TOURISM PROMOTION: ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY OF INDONESIA TO FRANCE (2014-2018)

Abstract

Since the rise of soft power, spotlights towards the military as the utmost ambition for a country to pursue began to fade. Specifically, the importance of geographical boundaries, the number of population, and raw materials are rivaled with aspects of soft power such as technology, social, culture, and economy. Thus, foreign policies of countries began to put the economy as one agenda to be fulfilled, expressed in the form of economic diplomacy. The tourism sector is one available tool to be used for economic diplomacy; it operates by highlighting the aspects of soft power to generate tangible economic benefits by attracting potential buyers from the international community. The exact form of the attempts to attract is called tourism promotion; inclusive to Indonesia that exerts economic diplomacy. To analyze the attempts of Indonesia in practicing its economic diplomacy and tourism promotion to France, this study utilizes qualitative research methods and adopts Rana’s analysis upon economic diplomacy phases. This study found that Indonesia had succeeded in implementing economic diplomacy using tourism promotion as its tool. Indonesia had used tourism promotion which fulfilled several phases of economic diplomacy through various programs; based on solid national vision and regulations. Furthermore, Indonesia views France as a strategic and competitive tourism market with numerous powerhouses within its tourism industry. All in all, Indonesia had performed economic diplomacy through tourism promotion that targeted France to fulfill its national economic agenda.