Indonesia wants quality not quantity tourists

[reader]

This is not altogether a unique theme. The powers that be in Thailand made their case for attracting exclusively high-spending foreigners right up until the moment they realized that they weren't showing up in numbers sufficient to revive the economy. Now Indonesia believes it can get by with a fraction of the 17 million who arrived annually before the pandemic. Only time will tell.

From Channel News Asia

SINGAPORE: Indonesia is aiming for quality over quantity of tourists as it opens up after 18 tough months of closed borders and bumpy transitions into post-pandemic life, said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno. 

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is targeting only 2 million visitors in 2022, a sharp drop of nearly 90 per cent from its pre-pandemic figure of close on 17 million foreign tourists a year. 

Instead, the sprawling archipelago, known for its famous beaches and lush green landscapes, is focusing on the amount of time visitors stay in Indonesia and their impact on the environment. 

“This is the concept of personalise, customise, localise and smaller, much, much smaller in size tourism,” the minister said in an exclusive interview with CNA.

“We want to improve the number of days that they are spending in Indonesia, the length of stay. We want to make sure not only a much better-quality spending but also the impact to environment. The 17 million plus numbers put a heavy tax on our environment. We’re moving into quality and sustainability type of tourism,” he explained. 

This radical shift comes as the pandemic calls into question the viability of mass travel and as the climate crisis pushes environmental concerns up the agenda. Tourism is one of the main sources of Indonesia’s foreign currency earnings – contributing close to 6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product pre-pandemic. 

Two of Indonesia’s most popular tourist spots, Bali and the Riau islands, rolled out the welcome mat to foreign visitors from 19 countries last month as COVID-19 cases subsided in the country. However, the reopening has been plagued by few international flights and a mandatory quarantine still in force. 

The Indonesian tourism minister was more cautious about when such curbs will be lifted, emphasising that health concerns must still be the priority, although weekly reviews will be made based on the health data. He said chartered flights in Bali might be a possibility and scheduled flights would likely follow-up on that.

“There’s a lot of demand for the live on boat quarantine, meaning that they arrive in Bali and they go straight to the boat ... They would be allowed to go into the dive sites and enjoy the open seas but within the premise of the boat,” he said. 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-tourism-sandiaga-uno-conversation-bali-riau-2301211

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, reader said:

 

SINGAPORE: Indonesia is aiming for quality over quantity of tourists as it opens up after 18 tough months of closed borders and bumpy transitions into post-pandemic life, said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno. 

 

grown up, minister and  still believes in fairy tales !

[Guest]

1  Either the "quality tourists" need to start spending a lot more per capita, or the total tourism revenue will fall dramatically.

2  In order to get "quality" tourists, countries need to deserve quality tourists.      Friends who have been to Bali & Thailand tell me the Bali is absolutely filthy with large quantities of rubbish washed up on the beaches and not washed away.  

 

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, z909 said:

 

2  In order to get "quality" tourists, countries need to deserve quality tourists.      Friends who have been to Bali & Thailand tell me the Bali is absolutely filthy with large quantities of rubbish washed up on the beaches and not washed away.  

 

very good point, it's why I mentioned fairy tales above. 30$ hotel can afford some deficiencies / better not/ but 300$ one must work like well oiled machinery inside and in front of it

No to mention fact that quailty destinations are often too sterile and  boring after day or two. We love Pattaya not because dirty beaches but despite of it ! 

[pong2]

But then I guess at least 80-90% of those visitors only went to Bali for 1-2 weeks-OZzies and Chinese/Koreans. Of the rest nearly half is probably F&F (visit to family and friend). In fact international tourism had already fallen considerably before covid to other places formerly well known as Yogya or the Bukittingi/Parapat on Sumatera. Riau amazes me-but then I think its mostly a weekend escape for Singys closeby-hence the numbers

In fact Bali does have some magnificent hi-class resorts away from the dirt&filth. Were even able to attract loads of famous pop-stars. But due to tradition the beaches cannot be private.

Up till now this is very 1st mention of my favorite country to reopen-so Iĺl check what it all means and if it can serve as ALT for Thailand.