Sheraton to promote tourism

JAKARTA (JP): ITT Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, a leading hotel operator from the United States, has developed a computer program to promote Indonesia's tourist destinations in an interactive multimedia system.

Sheraton's director of marketing in Indonesia, Angus MacLachlan, said here Wednesday that Sheraton Multimedia was created to help company salespeople promote the hotels.

"But we have to promote Indonesia before we can promote our hotels in the country. It's good for both of us."

He said that brochures were important but the company's innovative promotion tool would be more effective, particularly to persuade people with little knowledge about Indonesia.

"Sheraton Multimedia, prepared by a London-based company for US$25,000, offers 20 languages including Russian, Mandarin and Japanese," MacLachlan said, adding that BBC announcers had been hired as the narrators for different languages.

Indonesia is very important for Sheraton which currently manages 13 properties throughout the archipelago. In comparison, Sheraton manages 249 hotels in North America, 22 in Canada and eight in Australia.

Sheraton Multimedia -- which offers still images, video footage and interactive sites focusing on Indonesia's tourist industry -- is the first version in Asia, MacLachlan said. (icn)