Making efforts to boost North Sulawesi tourist sector

Making efforts to boost North Sulawesi tourist sector

By Harry Bhaskara

MANADO, North Sulawesi (JP): Even though this province first
appeared on the international tourism map in the 1970s much of
its potential remains untapped.

Part of the reason is that the synergy between the government,
the private sector and the people has yet to reach optimum
levels. However, an ongoing international conference here hosted
by the North Sulawesi Chapter of PATA (Pacific Area Travel
Association) may give the province the booster it needs.

What does its tourist sector need to do? The Jakarta Post
talked to a number of the province's leading tourist figures
ahead of the conference.

Chapter chairman Jeremy Barnes said PATA had conducted a
strength and weakness analysis of tourism in the province
covering tourist attractions, infrastructure, support system and
recommendations.

The government's response toward PATA's initiatives has been
positive, he said, as it is willing to include the private sector
to make tourism a leading sector in the province.

Barnes, however, emphasized the need to re-evaluate existing
laws and regulations.

"To enable the province to compete with other tourist
destinations, local or foreign, it needs to change laws and
regulations," he said.

Laws on tourism should be made more accountable and
transparent so that one could get a very clear idea about what
procedures one should go through to get things done, he said.

"You know, how you process your PMA (foreign investment) or
PMDN (domestic investment) papers," he said.

Asked to give an example of an outdated regulation, he said
that Indonesia had many islands and had cruising tourism
potential -- but cruising permits only last six months.

It is not uncommon, he said, for tourists on a cruise to spend
one year or more in a country. A longer stay also means more
income for the government and for the people.

"Imagine the marine tourism dollars earned from the food
passengers would consume for one whole year, the fuel (for their
ships), the docking fees and others," he said.

Markus Sigmann, general manager of Santika Manado hotel,
lamented the absence of an open air policy.

"A number of airlines including Silk Air and Royal Brunei
intended to fly to more airports in the country but they were not
allowed to carry domestic passengers (while on domestic routes)
because of the policy," he said.

Barnes also offered up an example of how conventional and
fundamental tourist services were not being provided in the
province.

"Hotels here don't want to accept traveler's cheques because
of the high tax rate imposed on them by local banks. Can you
imagine hotels not accepting traveler's cheques?" he asked.

Indonesia expects to net seven million foreign tourists this
year, with North Sulawesi a major destination, but this target
has yet to be adequately supported.

The Manado Post recently reported on a new instrument landing
system that was to be installed at Manado airport but, it was
said, relocated to Bali instead.

Sources told the Post that the equipment is vital for Manado
airport, where pilots have so far relied on visual approaches.

"It is not uncommon for incoming flights to have to return to
their original airports because air visibility is poor," says
Purwantono, executive manager of Santika Manado hotel and vice
chairman of PATA North Sulawesi Chapter.

Inadequate airport facilities are responsible for lost
opportunities. Some Japanese travel agencies that were keen to
send tourists on a regular basis to Manado by chartered flights
have shelved their plans, Sigmann said.

"The landing system is our lifeline," Purwantono said, "if the
airport fails to install a new one we are finished."

Sigmann said the government seemed to be more supportive of
those tourist destinations with a stronger lobbying power, like
Bali, Lombok and Yogyakarta.

"How can we compete with them?" Sigmann asked, adding that
Bali and Lombok had recently introduced a US$230 three-day/two-
night package tour with Silk Air.

Sigman was the only person from Manado at the International
Tourist Bourse in Berlin last March, while Bali was represented
by 80 people and Lombok 15.

"Not a single government official from Manado was there," he
said.

Manado is like Bali was in 1985, he said, as it has a less
than adequate infrastructure.

Sigmann gave the local government five years at most to really
improve the tourist industry.

"In five years the mining industry will likely stop. Unless
the government succeeds in turning the province into a major
tourist destination its income will dwindle and there will be
thousands of people unemployed," he said.

Tourists visiting the province, he said, are often thrilled by
its natural beauty, but the government's promotion at events like
the Berlin meet and the London World Travel Mart in November is
still lacking.

Promotion of the province's other potential areas of interest
is also lacking.

"The Sangihe Talaud islands are largely untouched islands
waiting to be explored," said Steven Limogan, director of the
Manado-based Maya Express travel agent and chapter treasurer.

Purwantono said he was fixing his eyes on 2003 when free trade
would come to the ASEAN region.

"Rather than waiting for 2003 we had better set our house in
order now," he said, "so by 2003 we are prepared to face new
challenges."

The province's natural beauty is beyond question. It is home
to one of the world's best sea gardens, Bunaken. North Sulawesi's
mountains offer exciting highland tours. And its people are
renowned for their hospitality.

"People here have an open attitude. They welcome visitors to
come to their province," Limogan said.

The province's marine tourist sector has much room for
improvement. It has huge potential for cruising activities, in
both modern and traditional boats, and trips for divers which can
be extended to the Sangihe Talaud islands.

To transform the province into a truly international standard
tourist destination, Purwantono said, the government has to come
up with more up-to-date regulations on these sectors.

These include a range of simple regulations from what flag a
cruising ship should fly to the taxes imposed by the government
on watersports activities and docking fees, he said.

Bruce Maxwell, editor of Asia-Pacific Boating wrote in the
magazine's April issue that it could take four weeks to obtain
three-month cruising permits for Indonesia.

Comparing Indonesia with Thailand, Maxwell noted that in the
1980s less than a dozen yachts were anchored off Phuket's beaches
whereas now there are at least 1,000.

PATA played a part in assisting Phuket to become an attractive
tourist destination.

Sigmann said the local government seemed to fail to understand
that once tourist numbers increase the province will get a better
income and be able to increase the wages of its people.

"That's why it is frustrating for me. You want to help but you
are not getting the right responses," he said.

Sources told the Post that hotels and restaurants in Manado
had contributed about half of the Rp 7.5 billion (about US$891
million) earned from income tax since 1998.

Despite that, Purwantono said he felt the local government
could have done more to support tourism in the province.

Lombok once invited all foreign envoys and members of the
foreign in Jakarta to stay on the island for free, he said.

"Tourism is a perishable business. You have to keep on
promoting even when business is sluggish," Purwantono said.

Limogan said if the government took aside 10 percent of this
tax income, it would be a significant help to develop tourism in
the province.

"This fund can be used for human resources training, promotion
and maintenance," he said, "something which is actually an
investment, but the government always regards such expenses as a
waste of money."

Barnes said he also felt the need for the province to have a
central planning agency for tourism development.

"The Sangihe Talaud islands may have their own concept, how
about Gorontalo (a town to the southwest of Manado) and other
destinations?" he asked.

"Without coordination and a central planning board for
promotion it is likely that tourism growth here will be
inhibited," he said.

Barnes said that tourism promotion in the province had not
been updated in recent years.

Indonesia has been hit by negative publicity since 1997 at the
height of the economic crisis and any government would find it
hard to thwart such bad news. Still, one lesson to learn is that
endowment of natural beauty is one thing, exploiting it for the
purpose of tourism is another.

In between, one needs to master the delicate game of putting
all stakeholders into synergy. It is the yawning gap between the
global demand and the local ability to answer it that needs to be
closed.