Sheraton to promote tourism

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)