What Will Bring the Tourists to Indonesia?

Indonesia has an opportunity to boost national development, especially in rural areas, through tourism. To boost the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia the government is extending the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility to include the citizens of 11 more countries, in addition to the 52 countries already enjoying the privilege. Citizens from Algeria, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Tunisia will now be permitted a VOA as an interesting article in the Jakarta Post yesterday explains.

This follows a recommendation submitted last year by the Culture and Tourism Ministry to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, for the extension of the VOA facility to include 19 more selected countries with the aim to increase tourism in Indonesia. However, government officials recently approved only 11, while the other eight countries remain on the waiting list.
As a major international tourist destination, Indonesia should prepare for the next decade, during which the tourism industry and international travel are projected to grow by 4.5 percent annually.

The tourism industry in Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing in the world, and is expected to grow by an average of 10.4 percent during the next decade, only one step behind North America’s 11 percent. Last year, 56 million international travelers visited countries in Southeast Asia, an 8 percent rise from the previous year.

Indonesia is expected to cash in on these positive developments. As in many other countries in Southeast Asia, however, Indonesia’s tourism development is not without problems and challenges that must be addressed. Aside from strong competition from neighboring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia is experiencing other problems. The country is still facing the threat of contagious diseases, like avian influenza; a pollution-haze problem; impact of natural disasters; security threats and the perceived lack of safety of the country’s air-sea transportation. These are some of the factors behind a decline in the number of tourist arrivals in Indonesia.

Indonesia has splendid tourist destinations scattered all over the archipelago that can be easily promoted in other countries. However, tourists are also looking for quality tourist-related services and facilities such as transportation, hotels and food.

Many questions can be raised about Indonesian tourism: Are the accommodations offered to tourists up to standard? Are tourists convinced of the safety of Indonesia’s air and sea transportation amid reports of major accidents in the transportation sector? Are effective promotional campaigns being carried out abroad?

It would do a great deal of good for Indonesia to once again have a successful travel and tourism industry, which at one time was second only to oil and gas as a source of national revenue. It is still possible for Indonesia to develop a tourism sector that can become one of the country’s economic engines and help alleviate poverty in rural areas? In order for this to happen, the tourism sector must be managed properly.

This year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia is expected to rise to six million, despite widespread pessimism in the light of Indonesia’s tourism woes. In 2006, foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia dropped by 2,61 percent to 4,87 million, from five million in 2005.

These figures pale in comparison with those of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Last year, Thailand had about 15 million foreign arrivals, Malaysia 17 million and Singapore 12 million. These three countries have been very proactive in promoting their tourist destinations in the European and American markets.

Since tourism is everybody’s business and is a perennial activity, the government and all tourism stakeholders need to find ways of transforming problems and challenges into opportunities for development through creativity and innovation.

Indonesian foreign missions abroad, especially the embassies and consulates, have been vigorously promoting Indonesia’s tourist destinations and are making a substantial contribution. Therefore, tourism-related agencies in Indonesia need to establish cooperation and partnership with Indonesian foreign missions overseas.

The government recently announced that it will soon open (and, in some cases, re-open) a number of Indonesian tourism promotion offices abroad. This will be positive for the development of Indonesian tourism, especially when combined with the offer of the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists.

However, the opening of new offices abroad and the granting of special visa facilities to foreign nationals will not guarantee an increase in tourist arrivals for Indonesia. Good service and facilities and better infrastructure is also required. Above all, tourists who visit Indonesia need to feel safe and have confidence in the mode of transportation they are taking while enjoying the tourist attractions of the country.

The writer (Al Busyra Basnur) is working for the ministry of foreign affairs. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached at basnur2002@yahoo.co.uk.