INDONESIA’s new brand campaign Wonderful Indonesia, launched January 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 4), is catchy and faithfully describes what Indonesia has to offer, but critically needs to be backed by improved infrastructure, says the local travel trade.
“Indonesia needs to have wonderful infrastructure too,” said Pacto managing director Susilowani Daud. “Look at the congested airports, the immigration, taxi services, just to name a couple of examples. These crucially need to be addressed.”
Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association board member Carla Parengkuan agreed, saying: “We need to improve public services and the transportation system to make it more convenient for travellers.”
The travel trade also had their views on how best to utilise the campaign.
“The general perception of Indonesia is that of a cheap destination,” said Bali Hotels Association chairman Jean-Charles Le Coz. “The government should use the brand to market Indonesia as a quality destination, and educate the market that we have quality products to offer at reasonable prices.”
The government should also place more focus on regional and medium-haul markets like ASEAN, China, Korea and Australia, Le Coz added.
– Read the full report, TTG Asia, January 14 issue
