Govt sets out plan to boost tourism<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is trying to boost its promotion efforts in its
\ntraditional tourism markets as part of a plan to help out the
\nbattered tourist industry.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika said the
\nmarketing program would focus on luring back tourists from China,
\nJapan, Southeast Asian countries, Australia and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
"We are starting from the nearby areas before moving to other
\nmarkets such as Europe," the minister told the press on Thursday.<\/p>\n
"The recovery plan is focused on marketing and improving
\ntourism as a product," he added.<\/p>\n
The above countries have been the main source of foreign
\ntourists for Indonesia in the past decade.<\/p>\n
The country's tourism industry has been badly hit by a series
\nof disasters, including last year's terrorist bombings, fear of a
\nmilitant backlash against Westerners as a result of the Iraq war,
\nthe recent outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
\nas well as the government's own restrictive new visa policy
\npassed this year.<\/p>\n
All of these factors have forced the tourism ministry to cut
\nits foreign tourist arrival target this year by 33 percent to 3.2
\nmillion from 4.8 million under the original plan. The foreign
\nexchange revenue target from the sector was also revised down
\nfrom US$4.3 million to $2.8 million.<\/p>\n
To implement the recovery program, the ministry has set up a
\nworking committee consisting of five groups, with each
\nresponsible for a particular market.<\/p>\n
Each group will conduct a series of campaigns such as a
\nroadshow and participation in travel exhibitions. The groups have
\napproached many in the travel business from each market as well
\nas designing tour packages to lure tourists. The budget for the
\ncampaign program this year is Rp 50 billion (US$6.09 million), a
\ntiny budget compared to the more than $100 million allocated by
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
Makiko Iskandar, the head of tourism promotion committee for
\nthe Japanese market said the group would focus its strategy on
\nluring more elderly tourists to the country.<\/p>\n
"Many senior citizens in Japan have the financial means, the
\ntime and physical ability to travel. This is what we are going to
\nfocus on," she said.<\/p>\n
Japan has been Indonesia's number one source of foreign
\nvisitors for the last three years.<\/p>\n
I.B. Ngurah Wijaya, the head of the tourism promotion
\ncommittee for the Australian market said his group would launch a
\ncampaign to resell Bali and other destinations in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"It will include a traveling promotion in several cities,
\ninteractive dialogs with Australian players in the industry and
\nbusiness meetings," he said.<\/p>\n
Similar strategies will also be applied for China and the
\nASEAN markets.<\/p>\n
The ministry is also looking to get more visitors from the
\nMiddle East, which according to a report that 70 percent of
\nMiddle East travelers stayed in first-class hotels and liked
\nmarine tourism in Muslim countries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-sets-out-plan-to-boost-tourism-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}