Tourist arrivals drop due to security fears

Tourist arrivals drop due to security fears

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The number of foreign tourists predicted to visit the capital
will fall by 10 percent this year, mostly owing to security
concerns, an official said.

"Many overseas tourists may feel reluctant to come here given
that the capital's security image continues to deteriorate," said
Hanifah, a chief market analyst of the Jakarta Tourism Office, on
Tuesday in a dialogue between tourist operators in Central
Jakarta and the mayoralty administration.

Hanifah said such foreign tourists appear likely to choose
countries perceived as being safer.

In all, the numbers of tourists from overseas visiting the
capital over the course of the past year declined slightly to
1,187,385, down from 1,187,776 the previous year.

Security has become the major concern among many in the
tourist business, buffeted by the worldwide economic downturn
which has also dealt a blow to Indonesia's tourism sector.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture shows that
around 5.15 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year.
It fell short of the target of 5.4 million arrivals.

The burning issue of terrorism following the New York attacks
last September appear to have had profound effects on the
industry here.

A tourist operator on Jl. Jaksa, Central Jakarta, Boy
Lawalata, expressed concerns that the foreign visitors coming to
the entertainment spots alongside Jl. Jaksa plunged drastically
to only 100 a day this year -- from 600 before the economic
crises.

"During the course of three months this year, the visitors
also continue to drop by 30 percent. Such an alarming condition
really worries us," he groaned.

Jl. Jaksa, along with Jl. Sabang, Jl. Wahid Hasyim, and
Pecenongan, are popular with their round-the-clock amusement
spots, especially for back-packers.

"Instead of concentrating on foreign tourists, now we are
turning our focus to expatriates and domestic visitors to drum up
business," Boy said.

Chief of Central Jakarta Tourism Office, Noorchamid A. Kahar,
said the concerns of security had been responded to by the
government immediately.

"Recently, we have invited tour operators and travel writers
from Japan, Britain and Mexico to visit Jakarta and see for
themselves if the rumors about the country's poor security are
accurate."

Noorchamid said they could help disseminate information to
polish the capital's tattered security image.

A five-star hotel executive warned that a strong campaign
promoting Indonesian tourism would be in vain should the
government do nothing to improve the infrastructure which
supports the tourism business.

"Damaged roads, out-of-order telephone booths and blacked-out
street lamps, for example, must be repaired immediately," said
Rajasa of the Borobudur Hotel.

Improvement in infrastructure, coupled with innovations in
services and products, would do much to tourist arrivals here, he
said.