Garuda launches new packages
JAKARTA (JP): After launching tour packages to New Zealand about a month ago, state-owned Garuda Indonesia yesterday launched new tour packages to the Gold Coast and Cairns in Australia, the sixth in a series of packages introduced since 1995.
Garuda's general manager for Jakarta, Iwan H. Susilo, said that the new packages, valid from May 2, 1996, to March 31, 1997, are arranged in cooperation with Ansett Australia and the Australian Tourist Commission.
Currently, the flag carrier has tour packages to Hong Kong, Singapore, Perth (Australia) and Honolulu-Los Angeles (the United States) to attract more passengers on its overseas routes.
Iwan said that the new packages to the Gold Coast with an extension to Cairns will hopefully increase the load factor of Garuda's Jakarta-Brisbane and Jakarta-Cairns services.
Garuda currently serves the Jakarta-Brisbane route four times per week and Jakarta-Cairns two times per week. With the new package to Gold Coast, the factor in the Jakarta-Brisbane route, which ranges between 50 percent and 60 percent, is expected to increase to 75 percent or 80 percent.
"We serve no other place with so many destinations. In addition, people don't need to go far away to Japan, the United States or France to see places like Movie World, Sea World or Dream World offered in the Gold Coast package," Iwan said.
Garuda offers two packages, one for five days/three nights and the other for three days/two nights.
The tours include a round-trip economy class air ticket for the Jakarta-Brisbane-Jakarta route and covers the entrance fees to Movie World, Sea World and Dream World.
Prices range from US$946 to $1,220 for the Gold Coast package and $423-$679 for Cairns extension package per person, depending on the hotels and services.
The published rate for the Jakarta-Brisbane excursion airfare is $884.
Garuda offers commissions of between $50 and $85 per passenger for any travel agents dealing with the new tour packages.
"We hop to get 1,000 customers to participate in this new tour package," Iwan said.
In addition to Brisbane and Cairns, Garuda currently flies to four other Australian cities -- Perth (seven times per week), Melbourne (six times per week), Sydney (seven times per week) and Darwin (one time per week).
Other airlines linking Indonesia and Australia include Sempati Air (serving Jakarta-Perth four times per week), Merpati (Kupang- Darwin two times per week and Jakarta-Melbourne three times per week starting next month), Ansett (Jakarta-Sydney four times per week, Denpasar-Perth two times per week and Denpasar-Darwin two times per week) and Qantas (Jakarta-Sydney seven times per week and Jakarta-Perth three times per week).
Australia last year saw 3.7 million foreign tourist arrivals, with Japan (782,671), New Zealand (538,377), Britain (347,894), the United States (305,875) and Singapore (202,366) as the top five sources.
Asia continues to fuel the Australian tourist industry, with the number of visitors heading down under increasing by 21 percent to 1.09 million in 1995. Visitors from Indonesia increased by 27.7 percent to 134,958 in 1995. (icn)