Guees What?

Guees What?

Working in the tourism industry is not always fun for women. Some people believe that women working in the tourism sector also serve as escorts.

"That is not true," says Rae Sita Supit, vice president of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agency.

She herself has been victimized by this wrong perception.

"Once, I was in an elevator with a man. He looked at me and said 'Are you free tonight?' God, I felt so angry I stepped on his shoe and left," Rae, who is also vice president of Latief Corporation, told The Jakarta Post.

"There was also someone who called me very early in the morning just to say 'I heard that in your hotel club, there's an exchange partners thing going on'. Confused, I asked him to explain what he meant and he said, 'You know, when everybody in the club can exchange partners'," said Rae, who has spent many years in the hotel industry.

"My body trembled with fury. I felt like I wanted to throw up because I was very angry," she said. "I said to him 'Look, maybe you took the wrong step when you woke up this morning. You'd better pray to God' and then I hung up."

Despite her anger, Rae Sita realizes that such a view is common in her work.

"I detest the negative thinking about women who work in the tourism sector," Rae Sit said.

It is not true that women working in the tourism sector are promiscuous. In fact, they can improve their economic condition, she said.

The negative view originates from people who have nothing better to do than fantasize about women, she said, adding, "I pity people who don't have better things to do with their lives." (31)