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)

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Member Countries 2002 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: ASEAN Secretariat