RI tourism industry lacks promotion, not security<\/p>\n
Indonesia's tourism and hospitality industry has been trying
\nto get back on its feet after several consecutive blows, starting
\nwith the 2002 Bali bombing incident, followed by SARS, the
\nMarriott bombing and enactment of the visa-on-arrival policy.
\nHowever difficult, some players have absolute confidence that the
\nindustry has rebounded and the climate has begun to improve.
\nStarwood Hotels and Resorts, an international chain with brands
\nsuch as Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, the Luxury Collection and W
\nHotels, has 10 properties in Indonesia, with 3,500 Indonesian and
\n16 expatriate employees. Visiting Starwood vice president of
\nsales and marketing for the Asia Pacific region Oliver Bonke
\ntalked last week with The Jakarta Post's Leony Aurora in an
\ninterview regarding the prospects for tourism and the hospitality
\nindustry in the country. The following is an excerpt of the
\ninterview:<\/p>\n
Question: How did last year's events affect your hotels in
\nIndonesia?<\/p>\n
Answer: Of course it had a major impact throughout this region
\nand Indonesia. Nevertheless, I think the hotel business is
\nbecoming rather experienced dealing with crises as people have
\nhad to become accustomed to them around the world.<\/p>\n
Of course we had a declining occupancy. It was a down year for
\nIndonesia, but it has come back very, very strongly. We see
\nstrong growth out of Europe, out of Hong Kong and other areas
\ncoming back into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Last year Starwood hotels in Indonesia had an average
\noccupancy rate of 52 percent. This is expected to increase to 62
\npercent this year, seeing that Indonesia is a region whose
\noccupancy rate stabilizes at 65 percent to 70 percent because
\nthere's a lot of seasonality.<\/p>\n
How do you see the prospects for this year, with the upcoming
\ngeneral election?<\/p>\n
The election, if anything, could have a positive or negative
\neffect on domestic travel. Indonesia is a market that has
\nconsiderable domestic travel, but unless there is unrest involved
\nwith the election I don't expect it to affect international
\ntravel.<\/p>\n
What are your strategies to reach the 62 percent occupancy
\nrate in the existing hotels this year?<\/p>\n
We've got promotions in place with our brands -- promoting
\nspas, golf and this type of thing. Second, with the very large
\nsales organization that we have in Indonesia, we have the ability
\nto be bullish on revenue growth with our major accounts --
\nwholesalers that focus on domestic travel and inbound travel.<\/p>\n
In your opinion, what is the competitive edge that Indonesia
\nhas over other Asian countries?<\/p>\n
Indonesia has such great assets -- the islands, the beaches,
\nthe weather and its people. The desire for great service is
\napparent everywhere you go and the desire to look after tourists
\nis incredibly strong.<\/p>\n
For the most part, Asia is a very friendly destination, but I
\nfeel that this is especially true in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
What is the weakness of Indonesia in tourism?<\/p>\n
I think Indonesia could do a better job in promoting to the
\nworld what a great destination it is. When you compare it to
\nThailand and other tourism destinations, Indonesia needs to give
\nitself a push and create a stronger tourism marketing
\norganization and have a look at taking the assets that it has.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has a good infrastructure, it certainly has great
\nservice, tourism destinations, cities, shopping -- wonderful
\nreasons for people to come.<\/p>\n
So what do you think is lacking?<\/p>\n
It lacks promotion abroad. When you look at a site like Bali,
\nit lacks nothing in terms of infrastructure and the desire for
\npeople to go there, but it may lose its competitive edge in terms
\nof promotion as a tourism destination from a country standpoint.<\/p>\n
We'll do our share to promote our destinations and our hotels,
\nbut we cannot make up for the promotion of a tourism
\norganization. So my appeal to the government of Indonesia is to
\nconsolidate its efforts and information and promote its assets
\nmore effectively to the world.<\/p>\n
What is the most effective way to do that?<\/p>\n
Tourism in a country like Indonesia should have a well-
\npositioned format within the government. It should also be well-
\nfunded, well-organized and well-promoted. I'm not saying that it
\ndoesn't exist, but I think from a competitive standpoint there's
\nroom for improvement.<\/p>\n
I know that there is a tourism function within the government,
\nbut my feeling is that there is an opportunity for Indonesia to
\ngive that a push.<\/p>\n
So the lack of security is actually not the problem?<\/p>\n
Do you think that there's a lack of security? I tell you what:
\nI haven't arrived at any hotel within the last 48 hours where the
\nsecurity hasn't been better than at probably any other hotel I've
\never visited all my life. I don't sense any lack of security
\nanywhere. As I mentioned earlier, the world has changed, and
\nwhether you're in New York or Jakarta, it's the same.<\/p>\n
What do you think about the visa on arrival that the
\ngovernment recently imposed?<\/p>\n
I think 30 days is OK. I personally didn't feel it to be
\nproblem. Maybe there's an opportunity to take that visa money and
\nput it into tourism promotion.<\/p>\n
I don't know if the money will be used well to promote tourist
\ndestinations.<\/p>\n
It's being used to counter terrorism....<\/p>\n
Money well invested. Let's be careful about not burdening our
\ntourists with bureaucracy, let's be sure that we don't put undue
\ncosts on them. But if you're going to tell a tourist, \"We're
\nlooking to improve the security and infrastructure of our
\ncountry\", and that money is genuinely channeled that way, I don't
\nthink you'll find anyone complaining.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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