RI tourism industry lacks promotion, not security
RI tourism industry lacks promotion, not security
Indonesia's tourism and hospitality industry has been trying
to get back on its feet after several consecutive blows, starting
with the 2002 Bali bombing incident, followed by SARS, the
Marriott bombing and enactment of the visa-on-arrival policy.
However difficult, some players have absolute confidence that the
industry has rebounded and the climate has begun to improve.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts, an international chain with brands
such as Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, the Luxury Collection and W
Hotels, has 10 properties in Indonesia, with 3,500 Indonesian and
16 expatriate employees. Visiting Starwood vice president of
sales and marketing for the Asia Pacific region Oliver Bonke
talked last week with The Jakarta Post's Leony Aurora in an
interview regarding the prospects for tourism and the hospitality
industry in the country. The following is an excerpt of the
interview:
Question: How did last year's events affect your hotels in
Indonesia?
Answer: Of course it had a major impact throughout this region
and Indonesia. Nevertheless, I think the hotel business is
becoming rather experienced dealing with crises as people have
had to become accustomed to them around the world.
Of course we had a declining occupancy. It was a down year for
Indonesia, but it has come back very, very strongly. We see
strong growth out of Europe, out of Hong Kong and other areas
coming back into Indonesia.
Last year Starwood hotels in Indonesia had an average
occupancy rate of 52 percent. This is expected to increase to 62
percent this year, seeing that Indonesia is a region whose
occupancy rate stabilizes at 65 percent to 70 percent because
there's a lot of seasonality.
How do you see the prospects for this year, with the upcoming
general election?
The election, if anything, could have a positive or negative
effect on domestic travel. Indonesia is a market that has
considerable domestic travel, but unless there is unrest involved
with the election I don't expect it to affect international
travel.
What are your strategies to reach the 62 percent occupancy
rate in the existing hotels this year?
We've got promotions in place with our brands -- promoting
spas, golf and this type of thing. Second, with the very large
sales organization that we have in Indonesia, we have the ability
to be bullish on revenue growth with our major accounts --
wholesalers that focus on domestic travel and inbound travel.
In your opinion, what is the competitive edge that Indonesia
has over other Asian countries?
Indonesia has such great assets -- the islands, the beaches,
the weather and its people. The desire for great service is
apparent everywhere you go and the desire to look after tourists
is incredibly strong.
For the most part, Asia is a very friendly destination, but I
feel that this is especially true in Indonesia.
What is the weakness of Indonesia in tourism?
I think Indonesia could do a better job in promoting to the
world what a great destination it is. When you compare it to
Thailand and other tourism destinations, Indonesia needs to give
itself a push and create a stronger tourism marketing
organization and have a look at taking the assets that it has.
Indonesia has a good infrastructure, it certainly has great
service, tourism destinations, cities, shopping -- wonderful
reasons for people to come.
So what do you think is lacking?
It lacks promotion abroad. When you look at a site like Bali,
it lacks nothing in terms of infrastructure and the desire for
people to go there, but it may lose its competitive edge in terms
of promotion as a tourism destination from a country standpoint.
We'll do our share to promote our destinations and our hotels,
but we cannot make up for the promotion of a tourism
organization. So my appeal to the government of Indonesia is to
consolidate its efforts and information and promote its assets
more effectively to the world.
What is the most effective way to do that?
Tourism in a country like Indonesia should have a well-
positioned format within the government. It should also be well-
funded, well-organized and well-promoted. I'm not saying that it
doesn't exist, but I think from a competitive standpoint there's
room for improvement.
I know that there is a tourism function within the government,
but my feeling is that there is an opportunity for Indonesia to
give that a push.
So the lack of security is actually not the problem?
Do you think that there's a lack of security? I tell you what:
I haven't arrived at any hotel within the last 48 hours where the
security hasn't been better than at probably any other hotel I've
ever visited all my life. I don't sense any lack of security
anywhere. As I mentioned earlier, the world has changed, and
whether you're in New York or Jakarta, it's the same.
What do you think about the visa on arrival that the
government recently imposed?
I think 30 days is OK. I personally didn't feel it to be
problem. Maybe there's an opportunity to take that visa money and
put it into tourism promotion.
I don't know if the money will be used well to promote tourist
destinations.
It's being used to counter terrorism....
Money well invested. Let's be careful about not burdening our
tourists with bureaucracy, let's be sure that we don't put undue
costs on them. But if you're going to tell a tourist, "We're
looking to improve the security and infrastructure of our
country", and that money is genuinely channeled that way, I don't
think you'll find anyone complaining.