Foreign tourists unhappy with cleaning services
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign tourists visiting the country are concerned over the poor state of basic services, including cleaning services, local transportation, telecommunications, mailing services, tourist information centers, domestic air schedules and security.
The information is based on an annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications. The foreign tourists, however, praised the good service in accommodation, baggage handling, the quarantine service and the wide selection of souvenirs and restaurants.
The survey collected responses from 8,253 overseas tourists leaving the country from airports in Jakarta, Bali, Medan (North Sumatra), Batam (Riau) and Surabaya (East Java), as well as the land border town of Entikong in West Kalimantan.
The survey report showed that 43.39 percent of the respondents regarded services involving cleanliness as among the most poor. This was followed by local transportation, with 38.23 percent; telecommunications, 27.45 percent; mailing services, 22.48 percent; tourist information, 21.46 percent; domestic air schedules, 19.20 percent and security/orderliness, 18.17 percent.
The surveyed tourists indicated that a lack of cleanliness was found on public streets, in public restrooms and at tourist destinations. They also found that the air in Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Medan and Surabaya was badly polluted.
Meanwhile, complaints concerning local transportation included the attitude of taxi drivers, who frequently refused to use their meters, especially when they traveled to and from airports.
The tourists also complained about uncomfortable public transportation, speeding and lack of traffic signs.
The survey respondents' complaints regarding poor information services focused on the problem of not being able to find tourist information centers, while the information that was available at tourist centers was frequently out-of-date.
During their visit to Indonesia, the surveyed tourists also found a lack of security, including loss of baggage. They also said they were frequently annoyed by street vendors.
Airlines
The services of domestic airlines were regarded as poor because they found that cancellations and delays frequently occurred. They also said that domestic airfares were costly.
Telecommunications services were still poor, due to the low ratio of successful calls, double charge at hotels for phone service, poorly maintained public pay phones, lack of public phones which allowed the use of internationally accepted cards (such as credit cards) and poor collect call services.
On mailing services, the foreign visitors found a less than adequate number of mail boxes, poor service regarding the acceptance of travelers checks, an inadequate number of windows at post offices and lack of stamps at airports.
Besides the above, the survey also sought foreign tourists' responses on 14 other subjects, including healthiness, immigration, money changing, shopping, entertainment and customs.
Indonesia last year saw 4.3 million tourist arrivals, bringing in US$5.2 billion in revenue, up by 9.4 percent over 1994. This year, the country expects to attract up to 5.05 million international visitors, with an estimated revenue of $6.27 billion. In the January-August period alone, only 2.74 million foreign tourists came to Indonesia, bringing in revenue of $3.35 billion to the country. (icn)