Indonesian sees recovery in tourism industry

Indonesian sees recovery in tourism industry

SINGAPORE (AFP): Indonesian tourism authorities expressed confidence Wednesday the country's battered travel industry will recover this year in the wake of negative publicity over sectarian riots.

"Indonesia is so big, so people try to simplify what is happening in the country", said Pontjo Sutowo, chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board.

"So far, I don't see any tourist destinations (in Indonesia) being unsafe," he said at a news briefing held on the sidelines of the Pacific Asia Travel Association's trade conference here.

I Gede Ardika, Indonesia's director general of tourism, said visitor arrivals to Indonesia rose almost 10 percent from a year ago to 306,194 in February, following a drop of 3.5 percent in January.

"Still, it gives us encouragement for the rest of the year," Ardika said.

Parts of Indonesia, particularly West Kalimantan, have been rocked by a series of outbreaks of ethnic and sectarian violence in the past months, leaving hundreds dead.

Political instability and ethnic violence which followed the resignation of former strongman Soeharto saw tourist arrivals to Indonesia plunge for the first time in a decade by 16.4 percent from 1997 to 4.3 million in 1998.

Indonesia's earnings from tourism dropped 13 percent from 1997 to US$4.7 billion last year, authorities said. The earnings accounted for nearly 38 percent of Indonesia's 1998 gross domestic product.

Pontjo said he did not expect a huge decline in tourist arrivals as Indonesia gears up for its first democratic elections in June.

Unlike 1998, where events were unpredictable, "this election is pre-arranged," he said.

Tourist arrivals "might level off during the elections, but we do not expect to see a decline as big as last year's," he added.

Ardika said Indonesian authorities would provide "transparent information" that would reflect the real situation in parts of Indonesia to help counter the negative publicity that has hounded the travel industry.

"I admit we have had some trouble spots (in Indonesia)," said Indonesia's Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Marzuki Usman.

"But let me tell you that it is not as bad as it looks," he said in a speech late Tuesday.

The strong presence of Indonesia's tourism and travel industry in the regional conference was proof of their confidence that "their destinations are safe and the tourism product is still intact," he added.

Indonesia's private sector is leading the initiative to boost tourism.

Among the policies underway to attract visitors to Indonesia is the extension of a special visa allowing elderly retired tourists to stay in the country for up to six years.

Famed Buddhist and Hindu temple sites would be open for worship to promote pilgrimages to these areas, and the government has a program to encourage local communities to play a larger role in tourism development, Marzuki said.