World youth assembly in Ambon to have strategic impact

Antara News, Otniel Tamindael, Sat, April 9 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A World Assembly of Youth (WAY) scheduled to be held in Ambon, Maluku, in July this year is expected to have a strategic impact on the promotion of Maluku province abroad.

Maluku`s Regional Executive Council of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (KNPI) chairman Zaharuddin Latuconsina said in Ambon on Friday that preparations were being made for the success of the World Assembly of Youth in the provincial scenic city of Ambon.

Zaharuddin said technical matters relating to the preparation were being made for a big success of the event.

"Around 120 youths from around the world are scheduled to attend the meeting and therefore we are determined to be a successful host to yield a world peace recommendation in Ambon," Zaharuddin said.

Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said the provincial government would fully support the event and to this end had issued a decree on the formation of the meeting`s organizing committee, chaired by the head of the local national education office, Salim Kairoty.

"From Maluku`s 2011 regional budget we have allocated a certain amount of funds to support the holding of the international conference in Ambon," Ralahalu said.

Two other international events, namely World Peace Day was held in Ambon on November 25, 2009 then in less than a year Ambon again organized the international marine event of Sail Banda from July 24 to August 17, 2010.

"It means Maluku has been trusted to hold other events like the World Assembly of Youth and therefore it should be supported optimally by all people in the province," the governor said.

Ralahalu also called on his people to make every effort to support the success of the international meeting because it has a strategic impact on the promotion of the province abroad.

"It will have a strategic significance because the participants will promote the real condition of Maluku to their relatives, including the government, investors, and even non-government organization upon returning to their respective countries," Ralahalu said.

Menwhile Zaharuddin pointed out that the Central Executive Council`s Chairman of the Indonesian Youth National Committee, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the World Youth has said Maluku has been designated as the site of the 34th World Peace.

The decision was made related to the holding of World Peace Day in Ambon on November 25, 2009 which was attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Zaharuddin noted, the World Youth Organization agreed to choose Maluku as host because the region was torn by a three-year sectarian conflict from 1999 to 2002 but it was overcome by social institutions through the promotion of local culture namely "Pela and Gandong."

The "Pela and Gandong" culture is the glue of brotherly life as a heritage which should be preserved and promoted to the international world, then became a model of social life with a plurality of society and religion.

Zaharuddin said, the brotherly ties between the Batumerah village people (Muslim majority) and Passo (Christians) will also be shown to the participants in the World Youth meeting to discuss the world youth program of handling the global warming.

Youths and young leaders from 120 countries who were grouped in World Assembly of Youth at an International Youth Forum On Climate Change 2011 (IYFCC 2011) from February 21-27, 2011 in Jakarta, South Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan and East Nusatenggara also spoke out on climate change and global warming.

With the selected theme "Listen to us, Sense Our Worries", the event gave an opportunity to the youth and young leaders to speak out

out on climate change by improving, understanding and inspiring the necessary actions to fight global warming and other related factors.

The event at the time was organized by Indonesia National Youth Council-Central Board in collaboration with the World Assembly of Youth (WAY), Asian Youth Council (AYC), Indonesia National Youth Council-South Sulawesi Board, Indonesia National Youth Council-Central Borneo Board, Indonesia National Youth Council-East Nusa Tenggara Board and the support of the Indonesian Government.

The World Assembly of Youth promotes the work of youth organizations in areas such as: democracy, environment, human rights, population, health, drugs, community development, leadership training, and cultural and religious tolerance.

It provides opportunities for youth representatives from different countries to exchange ideas and experiences, to coordinate program plans, and to reach a better understanding of each others` problems due to differences in racial, religious and national backgrounds.

Since its formation, WAY has increased its membership of national youth councils to the present 93 full members, from as many countries from all continents. Furthermore WAY has 7 associated members and 22 organizations of observer status.

According to Zaharuddin, the the upcoming international youth forum in Ambon in July this year would an honor to Maluku province.

He expressed hope that such an international event could motivate motivate both Indonesian as well as international community to be more concerned about climate change issues.

He explained that efforts to build awareness of youth as the pioneer in addressing climate change would be discussed in that international forum.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

A New Slogan to Lure Tourists to Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Tasa Nugraza Barley | January 09, 2011          

With more than 17,000 islands and some of the richest biodiversity on earth, Indonesia is a natural paradise. To go along with its breathtaking natural scenery, the archipelago also boasts a hugely diverse range of cultures and religions.

The komodo dragon is one of Indonesia's biggest tourist draws.
 Most travelers and tourism industry insiders agree that,
 along with the new, flashy slogan, Indonesia needs a better
 approach to managing a national tourism industry that
 continues to struggle. (AFP Photo/ Bay Ismoyo).  

Whether you want to take in the world’s highest diversity of coral species while diving the reefs of Raja Ampat in West Papua, stroll ancient temple compounds in Central Java or walk among real-life prehistoric dragons on Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia has something for travelers of all stripes.

How then, can you sum up this myriad of tourism riches in a single slogan.

This was the challenge facing members of Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry running up to the unveiling last week of the country’s new official tourism slogan for 2011, “Wonderful Indonesia.”

Reaction to the new slogan has been mixed, with some expressing remorse that the older, more direct slogan, “Visit Indonesia,” had been dropped.

Like it or hate it, most travelers and tourism industry insiders agree that, along with the new, flashy slogan, Indonesia needs a new and better approach to managing a national tourism industry that continues to struggle despite being blessed with almost limitless potential.

According to the official Web site of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, Indonesia ranks No. 4 in tourist arrivals on a list of all Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia, at No. 1, hosted more than 23 millions international tourists in 2009, followed by Thailand and Singapore, respectively.

Despite what on paper appears to be a chronic underperformance, there is reason to believe that Indonesian tourism is on the brink of a new golden era — if it can capitalize on some recent trends.

The Tourism Ministry has released new data for 2010 showing that it was a record year for international arrivals, with seven million foreign tourists visiting Indonesia. The ministry said that these tourists pumped around $7.6 billion into the economy.

In addition, the ministry also reported that Indonesians themselves are getting out to explore the wonders of their own country in greater numbers than ever before.

Last year some 234 million Indonesians fanned out to beaches, hiking trails and resorts all across the archipelago in search of fun and adventure, adding Rp 138 trillion ($15.5 billion) to the economy in the process — a 3.05 percent increase from the 229 million local travelers reported in 2009.

The ministry has set a goal for 7.7 million international tourist arrivals in 2011, a 10 percent increase from 2010.

It is in support of this target that the Tourism Ministry has introduced its new slogan.

The new slogan is accompanied by a logo depicting the country’s national Garuda symbol drawn in five different colors.

“The aura around 2011 is very positive,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik wrote recently on the ministry’s Web site.

Despite Jero’s enthusiasm, most industry insiders think that it will take more than a positive aura to meet the new goal.

Tara Seprita, a strategic planner at the Grey Jakarta advertising agency, said slogans, logos and taglines were an important part of this type of large-scale campaign, but she added that there must also be something behind the slogan that backed up the brand’s vision and mission.

Tara said that, by its nature, the global tourism industry is cluttered with many countries vying for their share of the tourist dollar.

Usually, one country’s campaign is no better or more distinctive than other countries’ campaigns.

It’s very difficult to stand out in this type of an environment. Doing so takes much more than just a catchy slogan, she said.

Dewi Wilaisono, a housewife, avid traveler, photographer and scuba diver, said she supported the slogan change.

“There’s no other word that can represent Indonesia besides ‘wonderful,’ ” said Dewi, who has traveled to almost every province in Indonesia.

Tara, however, believes that there is room for improvement. “Wonderful Indonesia” is not very focused, she said, adding that there are too many messages that the ministry is trying to get across in one line.

She thinks that the previous slogan, “Visit Indonesia,” was more to the point.

It’s not easy to determine which one is better, she said.

“In the end, a slogan doesn’t really matter that much — the most important thing is how well the overall strategy is implemented.”

Celebrated traveler Trinity, known to her readers as The Naked Traveler, agrees.

She said that a catchy new slogan is useless unless it is part of an larger integrated campaign.

Trinity, whose two books, “The Naked Traveler” and “The Naked Traveler 2,” have become national best sellers, complained that finding information about Indonesian tourism was still difficult.

“Try to search ‘Indonesia’ and ‘tourism’ on Google, the chances are you’ll have a hard time finding Indonesia’s official tourism Web site,” she said.

Trinity pointed out that finding reliable, up-to-date travel information on the Internet remained one of the most problematic issues for foreign tourists.

And until this problem is fixed, all the new slogans in the world won’t help to increase Indonesia’s tourism, she added.

She blamed the Tourism Ministry for not appealing to the public to get more involved in support of the tourism industry.

She pointed out how other countries like Malaysia, with its “Truly Asia” campaign, had managed to communicate their strategies not only to the world, but to their own residents as well.

“The people there are proud of helping and supporting the tourism industry,” she said, adding that the opposite is often the reality in Indonesia.

When the new slogan was launched, Trinity said most of the residents she spoke with didn’t even know about it and those who did didn’t really know what it meant.

“I myself don’t really know what the new slogan really means,” Trinity admitted.

“If people don’t know what the government is doing in the tourism sector, they can’t be expected to know how to help and participate,” she said.

“It seems to me that the government wants to go forward by themselves. This isn’t right.”

Tara pointed out how the slogans of neighboring countries such as “Amazing Thailand” or “Infinitely Yours Seoul” were actually nothing special.

But the difference is that these slogans are a part of large, sustained and creative campaigns to lure tourists.

Tara said that Indonesia’s tourism officials needed to stop focusing only on traditional communication strategies and start thinking more creatively while focusing on Web-based digital implementation and access.

But despite the criticism, Jero remains optimistic that his office is on the right course and can boost the number of tourists coming to Indonesia.

“Culture is our strength and treasure that we can use to build our tourism industry,” he said.

Although she personally likes the new slogan, Dewi agreed that there was plenty more that needed to be done in order to improve tourism in Indonesia.

“We don’t promote hard enough to potential tourists abroad,” she said, adding that even domestic promotion is very limited. “Access to many tourism destinations is still bad.”

Trinity, who’s been to every province in Indonesia except Papua, said that infrastructure remained a great obstacle to boosting tourism.

She said that East Indonesia, which has huge potential to attract international tourists, still has very poor infrastructure, making traveling there difficult and costly.

But despite the problems, Indonesia still has the major advantage of being, well, Indonesia. There’s nowhere else like it on earth.

For this reason, people like Trinity are certain of Indonesia’s potential. “I don’t know one foreign traveler who doesn’t like Indonesia,” she said.

“The challenge is how to start getting people to come here first.”

RI to launch ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ to lure tourists

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 12/31/2010

Indonesia will launch the new branding “Wonderful Indonesia” as part of its tourism campaign to attract up to 7.7 million foreign tourists next year.

Speaking at a yearend briefing in Jakarta Thursday, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said that with the new campaign brand, which would replace the previous “Visit Indonesia Year”, the target could be achieved.

The new catchphrase, he said, was much stronger than the previous one as it reflected the country’s beautiful nature, unique culture, varied food, hospitable people and price competitiveness in various kinds of services.

About 7 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year, an increase from 6.4 million in 2009.

“We expect each tourist will spend around US$1,100 and with an optimistic target of 7.7 million arrivals, we will get $8.3 billion,” he said, adding that 50 percent of the revenue would be generated from about 600 meetings, conventions and exhibitions that were expected to take place in various places throughout the country next year.

Wacik further explained that his ministry would also promote the country’s attractions under the eco-cultural banner.

“We picked this theme to cope with the trend that foreign tourists will choose eco-friendly tourist sites, hotels and services. All

tourism stakeholders, then, are expected to upkeep their environment,” he said.

Wacik pointed out that the Komodo National Park in West Nusa Tenggara, one of 28 finalists of the New Seven Wonders of Nature competition, as one of 15 prime tourist destinations to be promoted by the ministry next year.

“We’ll also continue our Visit Museum Year campaign. We’ll build a number of museums and revitalize existing museums,” he said without explaining further.

The director general for tourism destination development, Firmansyah Rahim, said his ministry planned to improve infrastructure facilities, mainly airports.

“We will widen runways at a number of airports to accommodate large aircraft,” he said.

Among the airports are Selangit in North Sumatra, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Toraja in South Sulawesi.

He also said his ministry would develop about 560 tourism villages across the archipelago, adding to the current 200 sites and contributing to the 2,000 targeted by 2014.

The director of marketing development, Syamsul Lussa, said that to reach the targeted number of foreign tourists, his ministry still had to solve problems, such as aircraft capacity and immigration services.

Currently, airlines have 14.7 million aircraft seats for domestic as well as international tourists.

“Seventy percent of foreign tourists use air services to travel. We need an additional 1.7 million seats to carry 7.7 million tourists,” he said.

“We also lack counters for visa-on-arrival services because the planning of airports is not in line with the development of needs,” he added. (lnd)

Related Article:

RI attracted seven million plus foreign tourists in 2010

Bangka has abundant marine tourism, historical attractions

Antara News, Otniel Tamindael, Saturday, October 16, 2010

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bangka island in Bangka-Belitung (Babel) province undeniably has marine tourism and historical attractions in abundance.

Having lush tropical forests and surrounded by crystal clear sea with white sandy beaches, Bangka island is another tourism destination in Indonesia.

After visitors have set foot on the pristine, beautiful beaches such as Parai, Pasir Padi, Sampur, and Matras beaches, returning to their hotels and accommodations will be a hard thing to do.

It is because of these abundant marine tourism and historical attractions that the Pangkalpinang city government is currently making every effort to develop them for both domestic and foreign tourists.

"Besides marine tourism, historical attractions also have a great potential to attract and increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit the island," Pangkalpinang culture and tourism office spokesman Ahmad Elvian said in Pangkalpinang on Saturday.

The historical attractions on Bangka island, according to Ahmad, are among others Museum Timah (Tin Museum), Rumah Residen (Resident`s House), Dutch Cemetery, Perigi Pekasem (Pekasem Well), and Tugu Pergerakan Kemerdekaan (monument of independence movement).

"Meseum Timah used to be the house of Bangka Tin Winnig (BTW) workers, and the venue of meetings between Indonesian leaders and the Dutch government before the Roem-Royen conference," he said.

But Ahmad said the house at present had become the tin museum where visitors could learn about the history of tin mining in Indonesia.

Commenting on Rumah Residen, Ahmad said it had a specific historical background as indicated by the presence of two ancient cannons in its compound.

Another historical attraction, according to him, was Pekasem well at Tuatunu village in

Gerunggang sub-district, Pangkalpinang.

Ahmad said the bodies of people killed by Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (People`s security force) in the past were thrown into that well.

Meanwhile, local Transportation, Culture and Tourism Office (Dishubudpar) spokesman Choirul Amri Rani said in Muntok, Bangka, recently that the Bangka Barat district administration was also currently developing three tourist objects in the area.

"With their appealing natural beauty, the three tourism objects, namely Batu Rakit Beach, Menumbing rest house, and Dendang Hot Springs are expected to attract a multitude of both domestic and foreign tourists," Choirul Amri Rani said.

According to him Batu Rakit Beach was potential enough to be developed into a family sport and recreational object.

"We have prepared the entertainment supporting facility at the beach for tourists and local community to enjoy," Choirul said, adding that the local government had also renovated the Menumbing Resthouse for tourists.

He said Menumbing rest house had historic value because the house used to be the residence of Bung Karno and Bung Hatta when they were exiled to Bangka island during the Dutch colonial era.

"Visitors can enjoy the original state of the house in a more comfortable atmosphere because we have renovated it," Choirul said.

According to him, the third tourism object in Bangka Barat was Dendang hot springs in Kelapa sub-district.

To introduce the three tourist objects, he said, the Bangka Barat district government would continue to make familiarization through photos and brochures.

"With continuous familiarization, we hope many domestic and foreign tourists will come to Bangka Barat," he added.

Therefore, Choirul also expressed hope that the local people would actively improve their creativity by creating various typical crafts for souvenirs in a bid to support tourism in their area.

"Dishubudpar has organized a souvenir creating competition but unfortunately the participants are still very few," Choirul said, hoping the local economy would improve following the promotion of the three tourism objects.

To support the tourism industry on Bangka island, Babel transportation office spokesman M Ilyas said the runway of Depati Amir airport in Pangkalpinang was being extended and expected to be completed at the end of this year.

"It is expected that the extension of the airport`s runway from 2,250 meters to 2,600 meters will be completed before the end of this year," Ilyas said.

He explained that after the extension of the runway, the Depati Amir airport would be at the same level of other airports in the country for Boeing 737-400 aircraft.

"With its 2,600-meter runway, the Depati Amir airport will be able to be landed by Air Bus planes," Ilyas said.

No wonder he said more tourists were expected to visit Bangka island.

He added that the local transportation office put the extension of the airport`s runway on top priority because it is located at the provincial capital.

"We will prioritize the development of Depati Amir airport but it does not mean that we ignore HAS Hanandjuddin airport in Tanjungpandang," he said.

According to Ilyas, the development of Depati Amir airport, popularly known as Pangkalpinang airport, was the responsibility of airport management company PT Angkasa Pura-II while the expansion of HAS Hanandjuddin airport in Tanjungpandang was the responsibility of air transportation department.

"The air transportation office will facilitate the development of the two airports in Bangka Belitung province to make them more adequate," he said.

Ilyas explained that as of 2008, the Depati Amir airport at the provincial city was far behind HAS Hanandjuddin airport in Tanjungpandang.

"As of 2008 the Depati Amir airport was far behind HAS Hanandjuddin airport in Tanjungpandang, and therefore Bangka Belitung transportation service office prioritized the development of Depati Amir in stages.

Related Article:

Pangkalpinang developing cultural sites as tourism objects

22 countries to participate in Lombok expo

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram | Tue, 10/12/2010

At least 118 buyers from 22 countries have announced their participation in the four-day Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME) 2010 event, which begins Tuesday in Senggigi, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Held in cooperation with the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board, the NTB Tourism Promotion Board (BPPD), the Culture and Tourism Ministry and other stakeholders, the event features 104 sellers from the country’s 13 provinces, including NTB.

The event is being hosted at The Santosa Villas and Resort, as it was last year, but the opening ceremony will be held on Gili Trawangan, a resort island off Lombok.

“We want to produce a different nuance this time,” NTB BPPD chairman Awanadi Awisnabawa said Monday.

NTB Governor Zainul Majdi is scheduled to open the event, accompanied by the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Director General of Marketing Sapta Nirwandar.

The buyers, Awanadi said, come from the United States, Germany, Canada, Spain, Hungary, Australia, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

The sellers represent Jakarta, Bali, Central Java, West Java, North Sumatra, Lampung, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.

“TIME 2010 presents all tourist destinations including newly developed tourist areas, eco-tourism and marine tourism,” Awanadi said.

Participants are also invited to visit tourist spots in West Lombok and Central Lombok as well as to climb the challenging Mount Rinjani.

Organizer Ressy Salim of Patco Convex Ltd., said TIME 2010 was expected to yield up to 145 transactions worth US$19.5 million. “We are optimistic of reaching that figure,” Ressy said.

Last year, TIME made $17 million in transactions involving 117 buyers from 24 countries, and 200 sellers from 16 provinces.

The optimism was a result of several new tourism destinations on offer as well as the participation of new buyers from India, China and the Middle East, she said.

TIME has been held 16 times since 1994 and has been mentioned in international event calendars, such as  World Travel Mart.

Sales at the event, Ressy said, were usually followed up by the respective parties during the International ITB Berlin event held every March.

The event is expected to help the province meet its target of receiving a million tourists within two years, under its Visit Lombok Sumbawa 2012 program.

“We have between 600,000 and 700,000 tourists visiting the province annually,” NTB Culture and Tourism Agency head Lalu Gita Aryadi said.

RI tourism not yet exploited maximally

Antara News, Thursday, July 1, 2010 21:47 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (IRHA) Yanti B Sukamdani said the tourism sector in Indonesia had not yet been maximally exploited.

"Based on data available at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country in 2008 was about 6.4 million. This is still small if compared with those arriving in Malaysia which reached 22.5 million," she said here on Thursday.

She made the statement at the launch of a book titled: "Angelina Sondakh`s Window of Tourism."

Yanti said that the visits of foreign tourists to Malaysia sharply increased if compared with those in Indonesia. About 15 years ago the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Malaysia was far smaller than that in Indonesia.

She said that seen from the variety of its tourism objects, Indonesia was for more attractive than Malaysia. The tourism sector development in Indonesia lagged far behind that of Malaysia because Indonesia had not yet tapped it maximally, she said.

Besides, she said, tourism polices adopted by the central government and regional administrations were not yet comprehensively synchronized.

The tourism sector will develop optimally if its supporting infrastructures and promotions were also carried out maximally, she said.