Tourism in a time of crisis

Tourism in a time of crisis

Our tourist industry can only lament the decline in tourist
arrivals to the country. Hotels are suffering from a lack of
guests, tour and travel agents are experiencing decreased ticket
bookings and souvenir shops lack buyers. Even Bali, Indonesia's
foremost tourist destination which is free of smog and upheavals,
is experiencing a decline in tourist arrivals.

With the country reeling from the economic crisis, President
Soeharto has asked the tourist sector to come to the rescue. This
is not an easy task to accomplish. Our minister of tourism, arts
and culture will have to work hard to save and rehabilitate
Indonesia's tourist industry.

Better promotion and the countering of reports negatively
affecting tourist arrivals should be given priority. In the
meantime, however, our tourist industry needs to be encouraged to
be more imaginative in creating new opportunities and in
exploiting every possible opportunity. In addition, our own
domestic tourists, whose numbers reach more than 100 million each
year, offer a great market potential that could help energize our
economy.

Let us hope that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture --
in cooperation with other government agencies, the tourism
industry and the media -- can contribute to the recovery of our
national economy.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta