Sudibyo M. Wiradji

Sudibyo M. Wiradji
Contributor
Jakarta

Various tour packages cater to travelers' needs

For many years, Hong Kong has been a favorite destination for
overseas travelers, including Indonesians, who go there not only
for business but also for holidays.

A former colony of the United Kingdom that became the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on July 1,
1997, Hong Kong enjoys a highly reputed status as a trade,
financial, logistics and digital hub, which boasts of being
Asia's most unique fusion of East and West.

It entices visitors with its superb cuisine, exciting
celebrations and festivals, a rich tradition of art and culture
and world-class shopping with an unparalleled array of goods and
services.

It's no wonder that Eddy Fendy, an operational director of
Avia Tour, said: "Hong Kong has become an important transit city
for Indonesians visiting Far East countries like China, Korea or
Japan."

Tour packages from Indonesia to other Asian countries have
been in high demand following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in
the U.S..

"That tragedy led many Western countries to impose tighter
immigration regulations, such as on the issuance of visas. And
this has caused Asia to become a more preferable tourist
destination," an executive of a local travel agent said.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), visitor
arrivals in September of this year totaled 1.37 million, a 30
percent increase from the same month in 2001.

However, that encouraging figure needs to be seen in the
context of last year's terrorist attacks in the U.S., which sent
arrivals plummeting during the second half of that month.

"Nevertheless, the cumulative figures of January through to
September confirm that the growth trend remains very strong," the
board said.

Visitor arrivals for the first nine months of 2002 totaled
11.74 million, a 16 percent increase from the same period in
2001.

Tourist arrivals to Hong Kong from South Asian and Southeast
Asian countries experienced a growth of 7.4 percent in 2001.
Despite the 10.2 percent drop in the number of arrivals from
Indonesia during the whole of 2001, Hong Kong saw a 46.1 percent
increase in the number of arrivals from Indonesia in December of
that year.

The visa exemption for travelers planning to stay in Hong Kong
for less than two weeks has been cited as a contributing factor
in the increase of Indonesian visitors to the city. But there are
other reasons, too.

December is the height of the peak season and there will be
many tourists spending their holidays in Hong Kong to celebrate
Christmas and bring in the New Year.

Several travel agents in Jakarta have witnessed an increase in
demand for year-end tour packages which include Hong Kong on the
travel itinerary. Especially this month, Hong Kong is considered
"fat", an industry term that means a destination is lucrative
because it attracts many customers.

But the tour packages that have Hong Kong as the featured
destination vary in terms of prices, length and accommodation,
depending on the travel agent.

Several travel agents are offering tour packages of between
three to four days for only Hong Kong. Others include Hong Kong
as part of their Asian tour packages that go to several tourist
destinations in Thailand, Korea, China and Japan.

Travelers can join either individual packages or a group
package tour. An individual package with one or two persons is
not strict in terms of time.

Individual packages usually include a return flight ticket,
and accommodation, but at the request of customers, it can also
incorporate tour programs. Group tour packages, meanwhile,
include a return flight ticket, accommodation, airport transfers
plus a city tour. Group tour packages offer a scheduled itinerary
and a tour leader, who accompanies travelers on the tours.

The Satriavi travel agency, located at Jl. Thamrin No. 5,
Jakarta, offers, for an example, a four-day tour package to Hong
Kong for between US$777 and $880.

WITA Tour & Travel, with its head office at Jl. Balikpapan No.
5, Jakarta, offers an eight-day package from Jakarta to Bangkok,
Pattaya and Hong Kong for $1,370 and a nine-day Asian Hong Kong
Tour package that takes travelers to Singapore, Bangkok and Hong
Kong for $1560. It also offers a 12-day tour of Korea, Japan and
Hong Kong for $3520. The package allows sightseers to stay in
Hong Kong for three days and two nights.

Avia Tour on Jl. Bungur Besar in Central Jakarta offers
several choices, with the length of travel ranging from seven to
nine days.

Its nine-day tour package to Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong
costs $1,250, while its eight-day Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong
tour retails for $1,088.

Agents are also offering an overland package from Hong Kong to
China for seven days for $1,069, which includes a flight ticket
from Jakarta to Hong Kong.

Travel agents generally require would-be travelers to pay a
deposit of 10 percent of the total package fare. These packages
normally exclude flight or travel insurance. Obligatory flight
insurance usually ranges from 10 percent to 20 percent or between
$10 and $35, depending on the airline.

Travel insurance is usually handled by an insurance company,
and is optional. Travel insurance usually costs between 15
percent and 40 percent of the package's value, depending on the
type of coverage desired. In general, travel insurance is about
$25. Packages from several travel agents also exclude airport
taxes of between 20 percent and 30 percent.

If you sign up for a tour package that includes other cities
such as Shen Zhen, for instance, you are required to obtain a
visa, which costs Rp 160,000 per person.

When it comes to places of interest in Hong Kong, there are
certain sights included in the city tour, which are a must-see.
These include Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Ocean Park, Madame
Tussaud's, a museum that houses waxed miniatures of world
figures, Window on the World, a miniature world of tourist spots
and China's Folk Cultural Village. Several travel agents also
include a visit to Shen Zhen on the program.

Local travel agents have said that demand for year-end tour
packages to Hong Kong had increased significantly this month.

An executive at the Satriavi travel agency said travel agents
had noticed a 50 percent increase in demand for tour packages to
Hong Kong ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

The demand for Hong Kong tour packages have come mostly from
individual requests. "The increase in demand is partly because it
is difficult to obtain a visa for those wishing to travel to
other countries," the executive said.

At least 50 groups, each comprising 20 to 50 people, will join
tour packages offered by Wita Tour & Travel. "Sixty percent of
the travelers are repeat customers," the agent's spokesperson
said, adding that more bookings were expected to come in the
middle of the month.

Avia Tours has also seen an increase in orders for its Hong
Kong tour packages. Eddy Fendy said there had been an increase in
the number of travelers to Hong Kong since the Idul Fitri
holiday.