DESPITE rampant jet fuel prices, Indonesian’s demand for outbound travel is expected to rise this year, with some outbound operators projecting up to 20 per cent year-on-year hikes in booking volume.
Elly Hutabarat, Association of Air Ticketing Companies in Indonesia (ASTINDO) chairman and PanTravel president director, said: “If you ask all the (operators) who organise tours, the numbers of travellers they are handling has been growing significantly.”
“Travelling has become a need and based on previous experience, even with fuel price hikes and fuel surcharges, no matter how high they are, people who have planned to travel will travel anyway,” she added.
According to Hubarat, Indonesia’s fast-growing middle class is fueling the rise in demand.
“This emerging middle class consists of discerning consumers who will definitely spend their money on quality. Millions of them are with (at least) US$3,000 in disposable income every year,” she said.
The recently concluded ASTINDO International Travel Fair (AITF) 2012 was organised to cater to this emerging market, with exhibitors doling out huge discounts on various travel products and services, tour packages and airfares, said Hubarat.
Garuda Indonesia, for example, offered up to 18 per cent off both domestic and international routes, with some ‘hot offers’ of up to 50 per cent discount. Chartis Travel Insurance offered complimentary trip cancellation and personal accident coverage for every package purchased during the fair.
Final sales results have yet to be released, but AITF executive chairman Anto Haditono expects to achieve the sales target of 50 billion rupiah. Last year, the show managed to reap a total of 42 billion rupiah in deals.
