Travel group criticizes govt on lack of marketing
Travel group criticizes govt on lack of marketing
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The lack of marketing of the country's tourist spots has put
the tourist industry behind Malaysia's, the Association of the
Indonesian Tours & Travel Agencies (ASITA) said on Monday.
Malaysia announced on Friday it was targeting a 40 percent
increase in the number of its tourist arrivals to 14 million this
year, from around 10 million last year. In comparison, Indonesia
expects to increase its tourist arrivals by only 10 percent to 5
million this year, from 4.4 million last year.
ASITA national board president Ben Sukma said compared to
Malaysia, Indonesia had much more to offer, from Bali to
Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta, Central Java and to Bunaken
island in North Sulawesi.
"But we're still behind Malaysia in terms of tourism. Why?
Because the government hasn't been doing enough promotion in the
sector," said Ben.
He pointed out Malaysia's tireless effort in promoting its
slogan "Malaysia, truly Asia."
"You can see it (the slogan) in every country you visit, from
Indonesia to Singapore, even in the Netherlands. It (the slogan)
is everywhere from street banners to televisions. Now, have you
seen Indonesia's slogan in other countries?" he said.
He explained Malaysia was able to better Indonesia in the
tourism sector because of the former government's serious
commitment in making it the country's second biggest foreign
exchange earner after manufacturing.
"Our government lacks that commitment," Ben said.
However, Secretary of the Minister of Tourism and Culture
Sapta Nirwandar said the country's tourism industry had actually
performed well.
"If you compare our country with Malaysia in terms of the
number of visitors, our country's figure does look small. But if
you compare them in terms of earnings from the tourism sector,
our country earned US$4 billion (last year) -- about the same as
that of Malaysia," Sapta said.
This, he said, was possible as foreign tourists stayed longer
in Indonesia, around 10 days, as compared to only around three
days in Malaysia.
Malaysia was able to attract a high number of visitors as the
country shared borders with Singapore and Thailand, he said.
"It takes only one to two hours driving from either Thailand
or Singapore to Malaysia, making it possible for both Singapore
and Thai residents to go there and shop often. Therefore, it's no
wonder Malaysia can reach the 14 million (tourist) figure," Sapta
told The Jakarta Post.
Ben said such an argument did not make sense.
"We have Batam and Belawan in North Sumatra, which also share
borders with Singapore. Why can't our country attract more
visitors?" he said.
The bottom line was for the government to determine its stance
on the tourism industry, he said.
"If the government really is serious about the sector, then it
has to start focusing on its marketing effort, which is to hold
worldwide promotions, just like Malaysia," Ben said.
Sapta admitted the government needed to put more efforts in
promoting the country with its new slogan "Indonesia, the
Ultimate Diversity." The government has allocated Rp 90 billion
($10.6 million) for tourism promotions this year.
Total International Visitor Arrivals to ASEAN (2003)
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Member Countries 2002 2003
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1. Malaysia 10.5 million 13.3 million
2. Thailand 9.7 million 10.8 million
3. Singapore 6.1 million 7.6 million
4. Indonesia 4.4 million 5.0 million
5. Vietnam 2.4 million 2.6 million
6. Philippines 1.9 million 2.0 million
7. Brunei Darussalam 1.0 million 1.1 million
8. Cambodia 701,014 786,524
9. Laos 465,470 735,662
10. Myanmar 205,610 217,212
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Source: ASEAN Secretariat