Promo tour sheds light on tourism industry

Promo tour sheds light on tourism industry

The Amazing Jogya Road Show, which recently toured Malaysia and
Singapore, aimed to promote the tourist industry in Yogyakarta.
The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni was invited to join the
road show, which was jointly organized by national flag-carrier
Garuda Indonesia, the Tourist Industry Association (ASITA) and
the Yogyakarta administration. This is the first of a three-part
series on the event.

It was a bright Sunday afternoon at the Central Market shopping
center in Kuala Lumpur when a group of Indonesian musicians,
singers, dancers and models drew a crowd with their cultural
performance.

The crowd, mostly consisting of young and middle-aged
Malaysians, watched with enthusiasm a performance that presented
a blend of traditional music, dance, song and a fashion show of
mostly batik designs.

So eager was the audience, some members jumped up on the stage
to sing or dance together with the singers once the show's master
of ceremonies invited them to do so.

"This is only a small part of what we can offer back home.
When you visit Yogya, you're bound to see a lot more," Indro
"Kimpling" Suseno told the audience while leading the performance
that afternoon, inviting Malaysians to come and visit Yogyakarta.

The event was part of "The Amazing Yogya Roadshow: Singapore
to Kuala Lumpur" a promotional tour organized by the provincial
government of Yogyakarta with the support of Garuda Indonesia
Airlines and the Association of Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA)
in Yogyakarta.

Some 70 delegates -- tour operators, hotel management,
entertainers, local government officials and journalists --
joined the six-day tour held from May 21 to May 26, with a two-
day program in Singapore, a three days in Kuala Lumpur and a day
in Melaka, Malaysia.

During the roadshow, a set of programs was held both in
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The most important one was the
"tabletop" promotional gathering, in which representatives from
participating tourism-related businesses met face-to-face with
potential local buyers from both countries.

"The response so far was quite promising, especially regarding
the number of local potential buyers coming to the gathering to
know more about what we're offering," ASITA deputy chairwoman
Yogyakarta Tusi Kuswenda said.

Although no deals were concluded during the meeting, according
to Tusi, Malaysian tour operators expressed interest in sending
both individual and group tours -- especially for golfers -- to
Yogyakarta.

However, some in the tour were skeptical about the response,
saying that besides expressing interest in sending tourists to
the ancient city, operators in Malaysia implicitly tied this to a
reciprocal hope of receiving tourists from Indonesia.

"Unfortunately, we found it difficult to give them a
commitment to send tourists, mainly because of the existence of
the government's fiscal charge regulation," said Ning R. Fadjri,
Deputy Branch Manager of Sari Tours.

Ning was referring to the government tax of Rp 1 million
levied on any Indonesian leaving the country. The tax had made it
difficult for Yogyakarta operators to attract local tourists to
go abroad.

"We're not asking the government to exempt travelers from the
charge. However, a reduction to say only half the present charge,
will significantly boost the tourism industry back home," Ning
said.

Many operators said promotional activities would not instantly
yield a direct increase in the number of tourist arrivals to
Yogyakarta.

"It's a long-term investment, the results of which may only be
felt in a few years. This accounts for why promotional activities
should be conducted continuously," Garuda Indonesia Yogyakarta
general manager Singgih Prawatyo said.

The establishment of Garuda's new international direct flights
from Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport to Kuala Lumpur since
February and to Singapore since March had motivated Yogyakarta's
tourism community and the provincial government to conduct the
road show.

"Unless something is done about it, the international direct
flights will bring in nothing to Yogyakarta," provincial
secretary Bambang Susanto Priyohadi said in Kuala Lumpur.

Bambang was accompanying Yogyakarta Governor Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X, who joined the delegation in Singapore and
Kuala Lumpur while on a separate visit to drum up business for
the city.

Garuda is offering three direct flights a week on both the
Yogyakarta-Kuala Lumpur and Yogyakarta-Singapore routes and has
pledged to add more flights should demand increase.

Singgih Prawatyo and Bambang Susanto Priyohadi agreed the
roadshow was a success. In Kuala Lumpur over 80 potential buyers
attended the tabletop meeting, while the organizing committee had
expected only half that number.

The same gathering held earlier in Singapore was also popular,
with nearly 50 potential Singaporean buyers attending the event
hosted by some 24 travel agencies and hotels operating in
Yogyakarta.

The fashion show, which was performed by five of Yogyakarta's
top models, presented the latest designs of noted Yogyakartan
designers of national reputation -- Afif Syakur, Nita Azhar, and
Ramadhani. Most of the designs presented at the shows contained
batik elements, one of the Yogyakarta's leading handicrafts
promoted during the roadshow.

Other performances included a traditional dance entitled
Indonesia Mini -- compilation of a number of Indonesian styles
including Javanese -- choreographed by Didik Nini Thowok's noted
dance company.

"Now that the gate has been opened, it's time to work hard.
The tourist industry needs synergies with related institutions,
the stakeholders," Singgih said.