Lack of flights hampers Yogya tourism

By Anis Suryani

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The riots and violence that have plagued a number of cities across Indonesia recently have resulted in sluggish tourism in the country.

Between 1997 and 1998, the average occupancy rate of star- rated hotels in Indonesian plummeted to a mere 10 percent to 20 percent. Earlier this year that figure slowly rose to over 40 percent -- a sign of recovery in the tourist sector.

Although free from riots, tourism in Yogyakarta has still felt the impact, although tourists continue to visit the city.

Despite the presence of some tourists, the number of tourist arrivals is still considered too slow, a situation which is blamed on the limited number of flights into the city -- the mode of transportation the majority of tourists use to travel to and from Yogyakarta.

The general manager of Hotel Melia Purosani, Frans H. Staats, said one of the main hurdles to tourism in Yogyakarta was air transportation.

"The only solution is to turn Adisucipto into a real international airport which can accommodate aircraft with larger capacities. If tourism continues to rely only on Bali and Jakarta, Yogyakarta's tourist sector will remain as is now," said Staats.

The managing director of local travel agent Bintang Indonesia, Tugasmin Bintang, voiced a similar opinion.

"Currently, an average of 50 percent of tourist tickets we handle are air tickets and the rest are for trains. In fact, demand for air transportation is higher. Tourists travel by train only because the air tickets are sold out. The train is only an alternative," Bintang said.

Peak demand for air and train tickets, according to him, was on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

"On these three days, there is an average demand for 250 tickets altogether, and out of that number 80 percent are air tickets," said Bintang.

With about 30 companies providing ticketing services throughout Yogyakarta, the demand for tickets to and from Yogyakarta can be estimated.

Garuda Indonesia, which has six flights a day on the Jakarta- Yogyakarta route, the busiest route to and from Yogyakarta, is almost always fully booked on weekends.

Opportunity

A number of airlines have recently opened branch offices in Yogyakarta, seizing the opportunity of this high demand.

Pelita Air, for instance, has four flights a week connecting Yogyakarta with Surabaya, Jakarta, Ujung Pandang and Kendari. They began operating the routes in September using Fokker 28 and Fokker 70 aircraft.

"Pelita Air's operation helps meet the demand. Also, its service is good and can become an alternative to other airlines," Bintang said.

A newcomer, Jatayu Airline, affiliated with PT Jatayu Gilang Sejahtera, has plans to connect Yogyakarta with Jakarta, Denpasar, Manado and Palu, as well as flying between Yogyakarta and Johor, Malaysia, starting in early December.

The airline's district manager, Bambang Mardiono, said that for the Yogyakarta-Johor route, Jatayu would operate as a chartered aircraft because Adisucipto is not yet an international airport.

"We will fly the Yogyakarta-Johor route three times a week. We have signed a cooperation deal with a consortium of travel agents in Johor and ASITA Yogyakarta to realize this plan. With this route, we are ready to serve tourists flying the Johor-Yogyakarta-Bali route," Bambang said.

Johor, he said, was chosen because of existing demand in the city for flights to Yogyakarta. Aside from Singapore, he added, Johor was now an alternative international gateway which was increasingly popular among tourists wanting to fly to Bali without stopping over in Jakarta.

Demand for flights to and from Yogyakarta, Bambang noted, was a good opportunity for Jatayu, which wants to make the city one of its home bases. For its operational purposes, Jatayu has two Boeing 737 aircraft with 109 seats each.

"The plan is four aircraft will be in operation by 2001," he said.