Use of Chinese language to boost tourist arrivals

Use of Chinese language to boost tourist arrivals

JAKARTA (JP): The government's new policy allowing the use of
Chinese characters and language for services in the tourism
industry is expected to boost the arrival of tourists from
Chinese speaking countries, executives said.

Meity Robot, chairwoman of the Indonesian Chapter of the
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday that the policy is introduced at the right time as the
number of travelers around the world is increasing.

She said Indonesia expects to receive some 6.5 million foreign
visitors in the last year (1998-99) of the sixth Five Year
Development Plan (Repelita VI) period, with Asian countries as
the largest suppliers.

The government decided last week to allow the use of Chinese
characters in the tourism sector. The government has also allowed
limited teachings of Chinese language for hotel employees,
shopkeepers and tourist guides. The ban on the use of Chinese
characters is still in force but an exception has been made for
hoteliers, tour operators and recreation centers for the purpose
of informing and entertaining their Chinese patrons.

The ban against the use of the Chinese language in any printed
publication is a legacy of the anti-Chinese sentiments that
sparked in the mid-1960s. In 1967 Indonesia severed relations
with China and also barred the teaching of the Chinese language.
Now Indonesia, after the normalization of ties in 1990, is vying
for the influx of Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs to support
its economic growth.

Increase

"By providing brochures in Chinese, we indeed hope that the
number of Chinese speaking visitors coming into Indonesia will
increase," Meity said.

She said that such brochures will be very helpful both for
tourists and travel-related entrepreneurs. "Imagine traveling in
a foreign country and no one there speaks or writes our
language."

Meity, who is also chairwoman of the Jakarta branch of the
Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (Asita), said that the
policy supports Indonesia's tourism promotion in the Asian
Chinese speaking countries.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia totaled 3.4 million last
year, with Singapore as the largest supplier, followed by Japan,
Malaysia and Taiwan. Data from the Directorate General of Tourism
show no figures concerning tourists from China, with which
Indonesia normalized diplomatic ties after a 23-year break.

Tourism observers believed that the tourism industry in China
will grow robustly by the year 2000.

An executive of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant
Association (PHRI), Adnan Karamoy, said that besides China,
Indonesia and India are also considered as the countries with
fast growing tourism industry.

Adnan, who recently attended a tourism forum in Malaysia, said
that after several moves to liberalize the economy, China will be
the fastest growing travel market, meaning that both outbound and
inbound travelers will steadily increase.

Preparations

An Asita vice chairwoman, Rae Sita Supit, said that travel
agents will further study what Chinese tourists are fond of,
while preparing brochures in Chinese characters.

She said that cheaper packages on scientific tourism such as
that concerning medicine or technology will probably be prepared
for Chinese visitors.

"We support the government's move totally and we will prepare
special cheap packages which will not affect our business," she
said.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said
the new policy is an important move to attract Chinese-speaking
tourists from prospering mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and
Singapore. Joop, who visited China last month, signed a
memorandum of understanding for the promotion of cooperation in
the tourism industry between the two countries. Based on the
agreement, Indonesia and China will launch action plans,
including provision of better services and accessibility for
Chinese tourists. (icn)