Tour packages to China attract more Chinese-Indonesian travelers
Tour packages to China attract more Chinese-Indonesian travelers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
When Vivi Anggraeni visited the place where she was born, China,
last year, she had the time of her life.
"I'm glad I took my mother up on her invitation to spend my
holiday there," the 23-year-old graduate degree student said.
She said that it was inspiring for her to witness the
industrialization of the communist country.
Vivi is among the thousands of Indonesians, many of Chinese
descent, who prefer to spend their holidays in the world's most
populous countries, rather than going to Europe or other western
countries.
According to several travel agencies in Jakarta, Indonesians
are now eager to travel to China.
"Many Indonesians are anxious to see what a communist country
such as China looks like today. Especially as China has emerged
as one of the world's economic giants," said Vayatour's tour
supervisor Dwi Indra Hartono.
Driven by consumer demand, the 40-year-old Vayatour travel
agency is now selling China tour packages besides packages to
Australia and European countries.
Indra said, this year alone, at least 200 people had gone on
Vayatour's China tours, which include trips to Beijing-Huangshan-
Shanghai in eight days, and Beijing-Xi'an-Gui Lin-Shanghai-
Hangzhou-Shenzen-Hong Kong in 13 days.
Indra said the reasonable price of China packages was a major
decider for travellers.
"Our China tour packages are longer than European tour
packages but cheaper," he said.
Another travel agent, Bayu Buana, said since China had became
a popular destination, it had increased its marketing of China
packages and shelved some European packages.
The agent's assistant tour manager, Alex Djunisap, told The
Jakarta Post that the simple procedure to enter China was also
encouraging to Indonesians.
"Since the 9/11 attack in the U.S., visa processing in the
U.S. and some European countries has become so complicated and
tiring. But for China, the application process is easy. I have
never heard of an Indonesian being rejected," Alex said.
According to Alex, in comparison to the visa application
process at some western countries' embassies, the application at
the Chinese Embassy here is straightforward: Fill in the form,
show your passport and on the next day, your visa will be
granted.
"It's different when you want to travel to a western country.
Besides handing over your passport and filling in the form, you
also have to show up at the embassy, either for pictures or
interviews. And then, show your round-trip ticket so they're
certain you won't stay on as an illegal immigrant," he said.
"Moreover, you have to wait for days, weeks, even months for
confirmation," he added.
From January to May, Bayu Buana sent 25 tour groups of 20
tourists each to China.
Alex said that among China tour packages offered by the
agency, the Hangzhou-Huangshan-Xi'an-Guilin-Quanzhou-Shenzen-Hong
Kong package was the most popular.
Aware of the trend, AB Travel is now selling a Muslim China
Tour package.
The package, according to the agency, is aimed at overcoming
Muslims' wariness about visiting the country, which has three
main religions of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.
"Most Indonesian Muslims are worried about two things if they
want to travel to China: the unavailability of halal food and
mosques. Our tour package solves that problem," said Nicky
Christina, the agency's sales and marketing manager.
She tells would-be travelers that there are Muslim villages in
Beijing, with mosques and hotels that provide halal food.
Nicky said that since the package was launched last month, six
groups of 15 to 30 Muslims had traveled to China and experienced
praying in mosques in Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai. (006)
Popular tourism destinations in China
Beijing: the capital of the People's Republic of China
Main attractions: Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, and the
Forbidden City
Xi'an: the capital of China's northern province of Shaanxi
Main attraction: the Army of Terra-cotta Warriors
Shanghai: the most industrialized City in China, a place to shop
Main attractions: Sun Yat Sen's residence and shopping malls
Huangshan: located in Anhui, a province in western China
Main attractions: Yellow mountains
Hongkong: formerly colonized by Britain and returned to China in
1999
Main attractions: shopping malls and Disney World amusement park
Shenzen: located in the southern part of china, Guangdong
province
Main attractions: in special economic zone, people can buy low
priced mass-industry products