JP/4/ED-25B
ASEAN tourism meeting
The tourism ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started their annual meeting in Yogyakarta on Thursday to draft a major ASEAN Tourism Agreement, to be signed by ASEAN leaders during their summit in Cambodia later this year. The agreement will pave the way for the liberalization of the tourism industry in the region in line with the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) starting Jan. 1 this year.
Despite disheartening reports about the a steep fall-off in the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia, we nevertheless feel upbeat about the meeting. Due to security problems and continuous negative international media reports, Indonesia's attractions are not immediately obvious to many foreign visitors.
The Sept. 11 horror further worsened the situation. Following anti-U.S. demonstrations and threats of sweeping against foreigners in several cities, about 1.3 million tourists reportedly canceled their trips to Indonesia. In 2001, the government estimated that 5.1 million foreign tourists came to Indonesia through the country's 13 main entry points. Most of the foreigners visited Bali, Jakarta and Batam. For this year, the number of tourist arrivals is unlikely to increase.
However, despite the global downturn, Indonesia must realize that it cannot just complain or wait for world economic recovery, or for close cooperation with other nations, to improve the situation. Only through hard work and effective action can we achieve our goals.
It seems that the government and the tourism industry here has never seriously tried to learn from the success of its more aggressive neighbors, such as Singapore and Malaysia.
Bali only represents a small part of Indonesia's beauty, exoticism and mystique. But the small island has become the most attractive destination for most foreign tourists visiting here. Apart from the infrastructure, people in the island are much more prepared and conscious in their everyday lives about the vital need for tourists.
Other major destinations are Batam and Yogyakarta. Batam is mostly visited by Singaporeans, who live just a few miles from the island, and many of whom come to the island on short breaks. Yogyakarta is another favorite destination due its rich heritage and cultural assets.
But how to attract foreign guests if they are not treated as they expect? There are so many problems at the moment hampering tourism development, like safety threats, poor infrastructure, poor overseas promotion, and the corrupt and venal mentality of our government officials.
Statistics show that most of the tourists visiting Indonesia come from Asia. It is very important to provide satisfaction for these potential big spenders. But look at the treatment they receive at the airports, for instance. There are many reports about the negative behavior of immigration, and customs and excise officers at Sukarno-Hatta airport. They often force people, not just foreigners but also members of certain ethnic groups, such as Chinese Indonesians, to pay bribes if they want a hassle-free journey.
Toilet attendants ask for tips. Convenient and safe public transportation is just a dream. Illegal taxi drivers or scalpers surround arriving passengers to tout their services. Getting a reliable taxi is another luxury. And this is just at the airport.
Many foreign countries discourage their citizens from visiting either the whole of Indonesia or various trouble spots such as Papua and Aceh. Foreigners who come here expect to find peace, safety and order. If they cannot get it here, they can easily find it in other countries.
We hope the Yogyakarta meeting will produce concrete results for the participating countries, and not just empty words and documents.
The meeting will mean much for a hard currency-hungry nation like Indonesia if it helps to significantly increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals.
Indonesia is entitled to have high expectations of the meeting, but it will also have to clean up its own messy house before inviting the tourists to come.