RI tourism facing tough task in the future

RI tourism facing tough task in the future

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Despite a full year of preparation, Indonesia's most prestigious
annual tourism event held here at the Jogja Expo Center (JEC)
failed to attract more international buyers compared to the
previous year.

By its official close earlier last week, the organizing
committee of Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME) 2005, or
Pasar Wisata as it is also popularly known, had recorded the
participation of only 124 sellers from 16 provinces and 76 buyers
from 21 countries.

Last year it had 147 sellers representing 20 provinces and 102
buyers from 28 countries participating. Thus, there has been a
significant drop in the number of international buyers.

"I do feel it a bit emptier this year. Even today, only a few
buyers are present. Many of them have already left for Kuala
Lumpur for the PATA Travel Mart," Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel's public
relations manager Yustianti Risnasari said.

Risnasari was speaking on the last day of Pasar Wisata.
Although it was still around noon and the event would only be
officially closed late in the afternoon, many of the booths were
vacant while only a few buyers were seen in attendance.

The PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Travel Mart, which
opened in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 27, or one day after the closing
of Pasar Wisata, was said to be one of the reasons why the number
of buyers at this year's TIME decreased significantly.

As both tourism events were held at almost the same time in
the neighboring countries, most of the buyers preferred to visit
the PATA Mart and skipped TIME.

This was not surprising as the PATA Travel Mart was always
going to be attended by a much greater number of buyers and
sellers.

"We thought originally that the proximity of the dates for
TIME and the PATA Travel Mart would help attract more buyers as
they could visit both marts." said TIME 2005's Organizing
Committee chairwoman, Meity Robot.

In fact, this was one of the reasons why TIME 2005 was held
immediately before the PATA Travel Mart. However, it turned out
that most buyers preferred to go directly to the PATA Mart and
skip Pasar Wisata.

"It was not what we had expected," said Meity, adding that
competition with other marts in the region was making things
tougher for Indonesia.

Other factors that contributed to the decrease in the number
of participating buyers, and also sellers, included the fact that
more and more regions, including Surakarta (Central Java),
Bandung (West Java), and Surabaya (East Java), were holding their
own tourism and travel marts following the rolling out of local
autonomy.

Meity, however, said that the success of Pasar Wisata could
not be just solely on the number of participating buyers. It was
also important to look at the value of the business transactions
sealed during the event.

TIME 2005 reported the sealing of business transactions worth
US$ 13 million during the event, or the same value as last year.

"So, I personally consider that this year's TIME was still a
success," said Meity, expressing the hope that the realization of
the transactions would produce even greater value than the
estimates stated during the event.

She also said that the decrease in the number of both buyers
and sellers at this year's TIME should not make the tourism
community in the country feel disheartened or even discontinue
the event in future years. Such feelings would provide no
solutions to the problems.

"We have to go on with this. Otherwise, who else will organize
the event?" Meity asked.

The success of TIME, she said, also needed the support and
coordination of all the stakeholders in the tourism industry,
including governments and the private sector.

The central government's decision to extend the number of
countries eligible for the Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility, for
example, was highly welcome and appreciated. However, she said
that financial support for events like TIME was also needed.

"It took some US$2 million to hold TIME this year. Most of the
money, however, came from the private sector," said Meity,
while expressing the hope that the central government would allocate
some funding for next year's TIME to show its seriousness in
restoring the country's tourism industry.

TIME 2006 will be held at the end of September next year in
Makassar, South Sulawesi, at the Celebes Convention
Center/Clarion Hotel Pettarani, which is still under construction
and is scheduled to open in June 2006.

Makassar will be the first city in Eastern Indonesia to host
TIME. Since being held for the first time in 1994, TIME was
always hosted by Jakarta and only moved to Yogyakarta last year.
Like Yogyakarta, Makassar is also scheduled to host TIME for two
consecutive years.

"We are ready to host TIME next year. All the preparations
have being made. We will even start do the marketing next week,"
Nico B. Pasaka, representing Makassar's local organizing
committee, told journalists at the TIME 2005's closing media
conference in Yogyakarta last week.

Held every September under the coordination of the Indonesian
Tourism Promotion Board (BPPI), TIME is aimed at improving the
image of Indonesia as an attractive tourist destination on the
international market.

Such efforts are important as the tourism industry is
vulnerable to various unanticipated shocks, ranging from health
scares to terrorist attacks.

With last weekend's second round of Bali bombings, it is
apparent that TIME 2006 will have a hard time attracting more
international buyers to the event.