Govt to focus on Australian tourists
Govt to focus on Australian tourists
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government would focus its marketing and promotion on Asia
and Australia next year to make up for the decrease in the number
of visitors from the United States and Europe, the State Minister
of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika said Friday.
Ardika, speaking during a year-end media conference, said one
of the results of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. was the drop
in the number of tourists from long haul destinations such as
Europe.
"The World Tourism Organization even predicted that there
would be a 30 percent decrease in world tourism as an after
effect of the attacks," he said, adding that to avoid such a
drastic decrease the government needed to shift its focus to
short and medium haul destinations.
The government had expected between 5.4 million and 5.8
million foreign visitors next year, compared to 5.1 million
visitors in 2000.
However, total foreign visitors as of October this year stood
at 3.6 million people, meaning that the government would not be
able to achieve its target this year.
Setyanto P. Santoso, head of the newly established Culture and
Tourism Development Board (BP-Budpar), said that the government
would refocus on regional markets and more aggressively promote
Indonesia tourism there.
"There are about 500 million people in the ASEAN region, some
20 to 30 percent of which can afford to travel. That's the market
that we need to reach," he said in the media conference, citing
that some 50 percent of Malaysia's population alone could afford
to travel.
Ardika also said that taking advantage of the World Tourism
Organization's declaration that 2002 be a world ecotourism year
and world mountain year, the government would also boost the
development of its ecotourism and mountain tourism products.
"We will develop land and sea based ecotourism and we will
adjust the mountain theme to volcanoes, because Indonesia is a
land of volcanoes," he said.
As pilot projects the government will prepare tourist spots
such as the Ujung Kulon national park in West Java, the Bunaken
coral reef reservation in North Sulawesi, and the Merapi volcano
in Central Java.
Also, to improve the country's image -- much dented by years
of upheavals, riots, and most recently by sweepings against
American citizens -- the government has arranged the showing of a
special television advertisement on CNN and BBC in December, and
on Malaysia's TV3 in January, Setyanto said.
"All this is important because tourism is the second biggest
contributor of foreign exchange to the nation after oil and gas,"
he said.
Central Statistics Bureau research shows that foreign and
domestic tourists spent Rp 132.79 trillion (about US$13.3
billion) in Indonesia last year.