Indonesia lures tourists with 'free' services
Indonesia lures tourists with 'free' services
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign travelers arriving in Indonesia today
will be entitled to transportation, one night in a hotel and a
meal all for free as part of the government's campaign to lure
foreign tourists back to the country.
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Marzuki Usman said
yesterday that foreign travelers would also be allowed to visit
tourist resorts and recreation sites for free during "Happy Day",
a day of free services launched as part of the Let's Go Indonesia
campaign.
"With the free services, we want people around the world to
know that Indonesia's travel and tourist industry is ready to
welcome them back," Marzuki said when announcing the date of
Happy Day.
Each tourist arriving in the country through Jakarta's
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Bali's Ngurah Rai
Airport today will receive one free night in a participating
hotel, one free meal at the hotel, one free tour and free
entrance to recreational parks.
Upon arrival, foreign tourists will also be provided with free
transportation from the airport to their hotels using Bluebird
taxis.
Tourists arriving on Garuda Indonesia planes will each be
entitled to a complimentary return ticket to any domestic
destination.
Besides Jakarta and Bali, the offer is also good at nine other
tourist destinations. They are Bandung in West Java, Semarang and
Surakarta in Central Java, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Batam
and Bintan in Riau, Medan in North Sumatra, Manado in North
Sulawesi and Yogyakarta.
The offer is valid for foreign visitors either on vacation or
business trips.
Foreign tourists already in the country, excluding those in
Jakarta and Bali, are entitled to all of the above services
except for accommodation and meals.
Marzuki said visitors would also be entitled to a 50 percent
discount on any future Garuda domestic flights if they traveled
on Garuda Indonesia on Happy Day.
Foreign tourists arriving at the 11 destinations who have
prepaid accommodation and/or other services will be issued
vouchers entitling them to the same services at a later date.
The program is sponsored by the Indonesian Hotel and
Restaurant Association (PHRI), the Association of Indonesian Tour
and Travel Agencies (ASITA), the Indonesian Tourism Promotion
Board, the Association of Indonesian Tourist Attractions (Putri),
the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) and
national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
PHRI chairman Pontjo Sutowo said at least 15,000 foreign
tourists would be able to take advantage of the free services on
Happy Day.
"The promotion is an image campaign and we don't expect it
will immediately increase tourist arrivals. Our main target is to
bring back arrivals to the normal level of five million visitors
by the end of this year," Pontjo said.
Marzuki said Happy Day would cost participating companies a
total of US$10 million.
The country's tourist sector, badly hit since last year, went
into an even deeper slump during and following the May riots,
which prompted many foreign countries to issue travel warnings on
Indonesia to their citizens.
The government last month launched the Let's Go Indonesia
campaign, its latest move to lure back visitors to the country,
which has been hit by a series of political, economic and natural
disasters.
Director General of Tourism Andi Mappisammeng said earlier
this month that Indonesia might have to reduce its 1998 tourist
revenue target of $5.75 billion if political uncertainty
continued.
He said the government had targeted foreign tourist arrivals
for the year at 4.6 million, a 10 percent decline from the 1997
level. In the first half of this year it only totaled 1.4
million. (gis)