Tourism Minister Partners With Australian Content Creator To Promote Bali

Share The Article

Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, has partnered with an Australian content creator to promote Bali. The duo have not only agreed to work together to promote the Island of the Gods but Minister Uno is even appearing in from of the camera in a comedy skit. 

Minister Uno has called upon the jovial marketing expertise of 41-year-old Damien Hoo, who has a sizeable presence on social media. Under the account @HooInTheWorld, he has over 20,000 followers on Instagram, 180,000 on TikTok, and 106,000 on YouTube. 

Hoo’s creative take on promoting Bali was called upon by Minister Uno after he made a video mocking the comments of Australian Senator Pauline Hanson during her triad about foot and mouth disease in cattle in Indonesia. Hanson suggested that the streets of Bali were covered in cow dung which is far from the case. Hoo created a viral video that amused both Australians and Indonesians alike and caught the attention of Minister Uno who even reposted the video on his own official Instagram account. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Damian Hoo (@hoointheworld)

In the new viral video Minister Uno even attempts an Australian accent which, according to the comments section, has only made followers love him more. Minister Uno was previously the Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta and has a very positive public image. He is young, forward-thinking, and creative in his approach to tourism. As was seen in the comedy skit with Hoo, he’s also not afraid to show his more human and fun-loving side either. In the video, the pair jokingly warn each other to watch out for cow dung.

Hoo creates videos almost daily and has a partnership with Wonderful Indonesia, the country’s tourism board, to create engaging content on an ongoing basis. The Australian creator has been in Indonesia for 18 months and creates videos in both Bahasa Indonesia and English.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Damian Hoo (@hoointheworld)

He has been asked to be an ambassador for Bali, a role that he seems honored to be taking on. On an Instagram post, he wrote ‘I was given a chance to create a video with @sandiuno. Yep, he’s acting in it too…Also I was also asked to be an ambassador for the area as a new focus zone for eco-tourism in Bali. If you’ve never been up this way in Bali. You’ve got to come. I don’t wanna leave tbh…Looking forward to continuing to support tourism in Indonesia’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Damian Hoo (@hoointheworld)

Minister Uno met with Hoo at Sudaji Village, Sawan District, Buleleng Regency late last week. The pair spoke with the press and explored the OMuinty Eco Lodge and Retreat which the duo both explained that the hotel embodies the image of the ‘serenity, spirituality and sustainability that Minister Uno is working to promote in Bali. 

Speaking to the press, Minster Uno said that ‘I invited Damian Hoo as part of a concrete step to promote tourist destinations in North Bali and West Bali, especially in Buleleng Regency’. He is on a mission to promote the diversity of tourism opportunities in Bali and increase awareness of other must-visit destinations around Bali away from the hotspots of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, and Canggu. 

Minister Uno’s visit to Buleleng is part of a series of visits to the 50 Best Tourism Villages in Indonesia in 2022. The Indonesian Tourism Village Award was launched by Minister Uno in February 2022 and was designed to promote community-based, and eco-tourism hotels, experiences, and destinations across Indonesia.

When looking at tourism nationwide, Minster Uno is working to promote other key areas to help spread the positive impact of tourism around the country, these include Lombok and Lake Toba in Sumatra.

Indonesia, and Bali especially, has at times a difficult relationship with influencers and content creators. It appears that Hoo strikes a favorable balance between comedy, observation, and aligned promotion.