Tourist industry to become largest forex earner
JAKARTA (JP): The tourist industry will be the country's biggest foreign exchange earner by the end of the Seventh Five Year Development Plan (Repelita VII) period, State Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita says.
"We have already set the goal in the foreign exchange earning," Ginandjar said at the opening of a three-day workshop of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications yesterday.
He said that by the end of the Repelita VI period in 1999, the tourist industry is expected to rank fourth after oil, gas and textiles in foreign exchange earning.
Data at the Central Bureau of Statistics show that the ranking of the tourist industry in foreign exchange earnings among the non-oil sectors steadily moved up from fifth in 1985 to third in 1992. In 1985, the tourist industry, with foreign exchange earnings of US$525 million, ranked fifth behind timber with earnings of $1.19 billion, rubber with $726 million, textiles with $559 million and coffee with $556 million.
In comparison, Indonesia gained $6.06 billion from textile exports and $5.47 billion from timber exports last year.
The Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications said that the country gained $3.35 billion from foreign tourists in 1993.
Ginandjar, who is also chairman of the National Development Planning Agency, said that in 1998, Indonesia expects some 6.5 million visitors, bringing in about $8.9 billion in foreign exchange.
"The figure is far lower than Malaysia's rate in 1993 when tourist arrivals in that country reached 6.8 million," he said.
He admitted that there are many obstacles in the development of the tourist industry in Indonesia, which have caused it to lag five years behind Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.
Ginandjar urged that tourist sector infrastructure be developed quickly to move Indonesia's industry ahead. He also called for more attention to the quality of the people manning the sector.
"The most important factor actually is the quality of human resources," he said.
He acknowledged that bureaucratic procedures also hamper the progress of the tourist industry.
Telecommunications
During the three-day workshop, Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave is expected to sign a fundamental technical plan, which is expected to regulate the fast growing telecommunications business in Indonesia.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria said that because Indonesia has now more than one telecommunications operator for both domestic and international services, there should be a regulation on the standards and quality of networks.
The workshop, focusing on the ministry's five-year programs, will also discuss the establishment of Indonesia Incorporated, which comprises both state-owned and private telecommunications companies for telecommunications projects in Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Those countries are believed to offer major project opportunities for Indonesia. (icn)