“This country has everything it takes to attract tourists,” reassured Carlos Monterde, general manager, Fairmont Jakarta, highlighting Indonesia’s interesting cultures, as well as history, beautiful scenery, beaches, countryside, shopping destinations and nightlife, which together attracted around 10 million visitors to the archipelago in 2015.
However, this figure is still relatively low compared to the numbers achieved by neighbouring countries like Singapore or Malaysia, which boasted 15 and 27 million arrivals, respectively, as Monterde pointed out.
The concern most prominently voiced by local industry experts is that of infrastructure.
According to Arif Billah, general manager, Legian Beach Hotel, this includes to roads, international airports in key destinations, tourist facilities, integrated public transport, assistance centres around tourist attractions and convenient walking streets to enjoy the scenery.
The government embarked on a mission to tackle the issue by developing tourism infrastructure and transport facilities, as well as telecommunications, licensing and other areas, as Herman Tony, general manager, Dusun Jogja Village Inn, revealed.
“Today, we have many new airports with good facilities, and freeways are being constructed in many regions,” he elucidated Accelerated construction and development, besides being positive for a destination, also bring certain risks, and fearing the negative effects of unregulated and uncontrolled growth, Monterde highlighted the need for a carefully mapped out national master plan for sustainable tourism development.
He also noted the issue of cleanness, saying “Creating a cleaner Jakarta and Indonesia in general should be a priority, as this would be the first thing to be noticed by any visitor.”
On the other hand, the urging need to improve transportation links within cities or, more importantly, between islands, was emphasised by Denny Ciaman, sales and marketing manager, The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali.
Rebecca Leppard, director of public relations, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta, pointed out to the necessity of strengthening the human resources aspect.
“The government and the private sector need to work together to ready the people for the tourism revolution, especially in new destinations. […] Not only for reaching the full potential but also about creating a sustainable business,” she asserted.
Another key factor underlined by Lillian Tan, director of sales and marketing, Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort, was the issue of visas.
“Some of the efforts in ensuring growth […] are to eliminate the visa application for over 90 countries, including nine Middle Eastern countries, making Indonesia more accessible to the world,” Tan elucidated.
