In 2005, national tourism sector went through a complicated period, commencing the…
In 2005, national tourism sector went through a complicated period, commencing the dawn with a prioritized effort to restore national tourism image thwarted by the December 2004 tsunami. The wave had swept almost completely everything in several parts of Aceh and North Sumatra. We accordingly endorsed the fact that we have no power over Mother Nature.
Alongside with the super wave, SARS and Avian Influenza have also contributed to the lessening number of tourist arrivals to the country. One of the distressing episodes was the trembling earthquake in Bandung a few days prior to the commemoration of the golden jubilee of Asia – Africa Conference in Jakarta and Bandung. A solid collaboration amongst the national tourism stakeholders have finally been fruitful, encouraged by the diminishing agitated natural force. This has been one of the most successful security references for international community toward Indonesia, keeping all attending world leaders safe and sound.
In spite of the inexhaustible challenges, the government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism kept maintaining its commitment to develop national culture and tourism sector as an integrated and sustainable harmony toward prosperity of the people and peace among nations. Such commitment was then followed by the momentous assembly in Tampak Siring Palace to discuss the future of national culture and tourism. The Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chaired the meeting, attended by 16 state ministers, 7 governors, Head of National Police Force, Head of National Intelligence, culture-related scholars, and tourism association members. The meeting eventually gave birth to 4 recommendations for national culture development, and 3 recommendations for national tourism development.
On the 60th Indonesian Independence Day in Jakarta, the President announced the year 2005 – 2006 as the year of Indonesian Art and Cultural Festival. It was cordially hoped that all provincial and local government would take part of the festival accordingly. Art and cultural festivals would strengthen national identity and pride. Beside that, in developing national culture, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has initiated efforts in heightening public control to corruption, collusion, and nepotism, preventing immoral acts, domestic violence, pornography, and over-consumptive.
Alongside with that, it also improved efforts to protect economically-viable art masterpieces, intellectual rights, and cross-cultural cooperation. Congresses, symposiums, competitions, meetings and conferences in cultural development were also held. Several highlights worth noting were Art Festivals in many provinces, The 2nd National Art Congress in Jakarta, revitalizing national film industry, and initiating the collection of ASEAN Culture Heritage.
In tourism sector, beside the image recovery effort, the ministry also thrived on promoting Indonesian international branding, Indonesia, The Ultimate in Diversity, and national branding, Kenali Negerimu, Cintai Negerimu. Reorganizing tourism infrastructures were also in the tourism development agenda, following the tsunami, and bombing incidents in Kuta and Jimbaran. Visa on Arrival policy gives 36 nations liberty to visit Indonesia and obtain visas upon their arrivals. Indonesian tourism promotional campaigns were launched in Japan, People?s Republic of China, and Australia to bridge efforts in developing tourism destinations back home. Human resource development was widened by staging tourism workshops across the country. International collaborations were continued, embracing the UN-WTO, ASEAN M-ATM, Asia-Europe ASEM, and so on.
International tourist arrival in 2005 was targeted to reach 6 million arrivals as an optimistic target. It was unfortunately too complicated to attain, reaching approximately 5.006.797 arrivals, a bit higher than the moderate target, which was set to 5 million arrivals. The decrease was calculated to touch 5.91% compared to 2004 tourist arrivals (5.321.125 arrivals). Domestic tourist?s trips were calculated to reach 219.759.821 trips. The average expenditure was around Rp 390,000,- and length of stay of 5.5 days. Decrease in international tourist arrivals was not virtually affected by one single cause, noting several factors have contributed to the drop.
Minister of Culture and Tourism, H.E. Jero Wacik, pushed for a better performance in the years to come for cultural and tourism development. As the President announced 2005 – 2006 as the Year of Art and Cultural Festival, next year would be a great year to start Tourism Enriches program and Water and Cultural Tourism program.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
