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Asked to give an example of an outdated regulation, he said that Indonesia had many islands and had cruising tourism potential -- but cruising permits only last six months.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