Indonesia gets the hard sell in upcoming tourism mart

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Bali and Indonesia are one and the same to many foreigners, but the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board is trying to bring name recognition to the rest of the archipelago.

Lack of integrated promotional campaigns and poor information have contributed to the skimpy understanding of what the country has to offer, said Wuryastuti Sunario, the board's managing director and chairperson of the upcoming Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME).

"Aggressive yet accurate campaigns are badly needed to sell Indonesia, and to open the eyes of overseas visitors to the fact that our country has abundant natural and cultural attractions that are worth seeing," Wuryastuti said in a recent interview. "Bali is just one of the country's 17,000 islands."

She said TIME, also known as Pasar Wisata, has been one of the most effective tourism campaigns in setting the record straight. It will be held for the fourth time at the Jakarta Hilton Conventional Center from Sept. 23 through Sept. 28.

TIME will comprise a mart, expo and conference. The former involves 186 domestic sellers -- including hotels and travel agencies -- from 20 provinces and 189 foreign buyers from 34 countries. At the expo, domestic and foreign participants are allowed to exhibit their products to buyers as well as the public.

Seminars and discussions are also planned. Meetings will discuss tourism in preparing for the 21st century. Economist Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave will be among the speakers.

"This is an important tourism event which has already been included in the international tourism calendar," Wuryastuti said. "Every September, foreign tour operators and people from other related tourism industries will flock to Jakarta to see whether they can make profitable deals here. Thus, we have to use this opportunity to promote our products to these potential buyers."

Regional tourism organizations from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India will also participate in the expo.

The organizing committee has reminded participants to send senior and capable representatives. These should be people with the savvy to negotiate and clinch deals with buyers. Failure to be assertive and active in promoting the products will mean lost opportunities, Wuryastuti said.

At previous events, some companies lived to regret their error in sending subordinates who did not have the power to make decisions.

"They thought TIME was just an exhibition where they didn't have to send their top managers," she said. "This was a big mistake. When buyers were interested in the products, they were unable to meet the right contacts."

She said people should understand that this is an international-scale mart and expo. Sellers should understand their market and be ready to meet buyers' demand.

"The three previous events proved very effective in attracting buyers and yielding profitable business contracts," she added.

Eighty percent of sellers met new buyers, established contact and initiated contract negotiations, according to a satisfaction study conducted by Frank Small & Associates on last year's TIME.

The study also found visitor totals of 27,000, compared to 21,000 in 1995. This year's TIME is expected to draw 50,000 visitors.

TIME is a part of the board's promotional activities in line with the government's ambitious goal to mold tourism as the backbone of Indonesia's economic development by 2005. Expected arrivals of eight million visitors are projected to bring US$15 billion in foreign exchange earnings by that year.

For this year, the government has targeted between $7.2 billion and $7.8 billion in earnings from about 5.7 million overseas visitors. Tourist arrivals in the country through seven major gateways in the January-June period of this year totaled about 2.01 million, up 1.6 percent from the first half of last year.

Foreign tourist spending in Indonesia increased 6 percent to $2.64 billion in the first half of this year over the same period in 1996. Last year, the country gained $5.13 billion in foreign exchange from five million visitors.

With the targets in mind, the board has launched effective promotional activities in cooperation with tourism-related industries including airlines, hotels, telecommunication companies, financial services firms and the media.

The "A World All Its Own" campaign spotlights the country's abundant natural and cultural attractions; it is aimed at more affluent visitors.

Target groups differ in separate nations. Market segments are middle to upper income tourist and business travelers in Australia; young, wealthy travelers in Taiwan; middle to upper income families and the affluent young in Singapore; working women, honeymooners, senior citizens and businesspeople in Japan. For European countries and the United States, promotions hone in on upper income tourists and businesspeople.

Budget constraints have contributed to the focus on overseas tourists. "Due to a lack of funds, promotional activities are mainly aimed at attracting overseas tourists although we realize that domestic market is very potential," Wuryastuti said.

Indonesia's tourist promotion budget -- $20 million in 1995 -- is paltry compared to other nations. UNDP reports show Thailand set aside US$72.5 million, and Australia and Canada each allocated no less than $100 million in the same year.

"It requires a lot of efforts to achieve the government's goal," she said. "Promotion is not enough. Integrated cooperation among related-tourism industry as well as governmental agencies and the society is a must."

Poor coordination among related sectors has also been a problem in attaining the government's goal.

Promotion is also less effective if it is not supported by comparable services from tourism-related industries including hotels, transportation and communications.

Many Indonesians still make negative assumptions about tourism. It is often associated with prostitution, crime, environmental damage and cultural degradation, a stigma acknowledged by Minister Joop Ave.

"It may need quite a long time to change people's perception toward tourism," Wuryastuti said. "What we have to develop now is tourism industry which is in line with our national, cultural and environmental condition. And that is not an easy job."