Tourist sector targets backpackers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's declining popularity as a tourist
\ndestination has compelled the country to refashion its service
\ntowards catering to foreign backpackers, Minister of Tourism,
\nArts and Culture Marzuki Usman said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said that the government would develop small and
\nmedium scale tourist enterprises in an attempt to attract low
\nbudget foreign tourists following failed attempts to restore the
\nbattered upper end of the market.<\/p>\n
\"If more backpackers were to come here, not only would they
\nspend a longer time in the country, they would also tell people
\nabout how cheap it is to travel in Indonesia,\" Marzuki told The
\nJakarta Post in an interview.<\/p>\n
Low budget tourists would also be less concerned by the
\ncountry's tainted image, he said.<\/p>\n
Without having the time to recover from last year's series of
\nnatural disasters, tourism here suffered an even worse blow when
\nsevere riots broke out in May. The riots resulted in over 1,000
\ndeaths and cost trillions of rupiah in damage to property.<\/p>\n
The riots, which led to the resignation of former president
\nSoeharto, triggered a mass exodus of foreign and Indonesian
\nnationals. Foreign nationals were advised to avoid the country
\nwherever possible, leaving most hotels here empty.<\/p>\n
Although foreign tourist arrivals have picked up slightly,
\nthey are still well below the normal rate in what is usually the
\npeak season.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said developing the lower end of the tourist market
\nwould provide many Indonesians with employment at a time of
\nrising poverty.<\/p>\n
He said his office would develop programs to cooperate with
\nthe private sector, including people from impoverished
\nbackgrounds.<\/p>\n
For example the development of small scale youth hostels would
\nbe encouraged, he said.<\/p>\n
The owner of a successful youth hostel in South Jakarta
\nintends to start a training program for those interested in
\nentering the trade, he added.<\/p>\n
For a certain fee, participants would be able to benefit from
\nan insight into management schemes and how to win overseas
\nmarketing contacts, he said, adding that interested parties could
\nalso obtain soft loans to start their own businesses.<\/p>\n
However, the minister's ideas won a cool response from the
\nowners of expensive hotels and other large tourist businesses.<\/p>\n
They said the plan would not help to resolve their cash flow
\nproblems because backpackers would not spend as much money as
\nother classes of tourist.<\/p>\n
A backpacker spends an average of US$25 per day but can stay
\nin the country for months, while other tourists spend an average
\nof $1,238 on a three week holiday, according to the ministry.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said backpackers would spread word of the beauty of
\nIndonesia and tell their friends that the country was safe and
\ncheap to travel in. On the other hand, he said, hiring public
\nrelations companies and placing large advertisements to lure
\nforeign tourists would be very expensive.<\/p>\n
\"Advertisements and public relations costs a lot of money that
\nwe don't have,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government funded Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board has
\ndebts amounting to $21.5 million and is currently unable to
\nfinance promotional activities.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said the tourism sector could use other means to
\npromote their businesses, for example by targeting younger
\nmarkets in overseas universities.<\/p>\n
\"That would be an investment because young backpackers who
\ncome here may return again in the future when they have become
\nprofessionals and then they will bring more money with them,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said tourism in the country had begun to recover, with
\nhotel occupancy rates in Jakarta rising to an average of 40
\npercent in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Arrivals of independent foreign tourists in Bali has returned
\nto normal, but group visitor arrivals are still lower than usual,
\nhe said. Marzuki added that women from neighboring countries like
\nSingapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong were very reluctant to come to
\nthe country following reports of the widespread gang rape of
\nwomen during the May riots. (das)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tourist-sector-targets-backpackers-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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