Tourist sector in doldrums

Tourist sector in doldrums

PALANGKA RAYA, Central Kalimantan: The Association of
Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) was urged by its
chairman yesterday to find ways to revive the country's tourist
industry, battered by the monetary crisis and recent unrest.

Negative reports regarding the situation in Indonesia have
contributed to the worsening state of the tourist industry, Sri
Mulyono Herlambang said when opening the meeting of the
association's chapter here.

He said many companies involved in tourism are on the brink of
bankruptcy.

Only a few companies have been able to maintain their
operations, such as those in Bali and Yogyakarta, he was quoted
as saying by Antara.

ASITA should thus focus on improving the quality of human
resources, particularly in travel and tour operations, he added.

He noted that the government aimed to make the tourist
industry a primary foreign exchange earner by the end of the
current five-year development plan.

"The ASITA is also expected to help the provincial
administration find solutions to such national concerns as the
forest fires and the fluctuation of the rupiah against the U.S.
dollar," Herlambang said.