SWITZERLAND Tourism is aiming to grow the Indonesian FIT market as well as increase the length of stay of incentive groups.
At the Switzerland Travel Experience workshop held in Jakarta last week, Daniel Derzic, deputy head of mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia, told Indonesian outbound executives: “Thanks to the rising (Indonesian) middle class, there is growth of FITs (into Switzerland). While serial trips from Indonesia will grow the most in the coming years, there will be a gradual shift to incentives and FITs.
“Although FITs are still the smallest category, we wants to focus more on this group in the future, tapping special-interest groups such as honeymooners, art enthusiasts, luxury travellers and students.
“(The majority of) travellers from Indonesia to Switzerland are on a Europe tour and we want to increase their length of stay, especially of incentive travellers.”
Ivan Breiter, director for South-east Asia, Switzerland Tourism, added: “We have seen good growth of arrivals from Indonesia since we opened a South-east Asia office in Singapore three years ago.
“We saw a year-on-year decrease – up to 20 per cent – in 1H2014 due to the election, but growth was strong again in 2H2014. Arrivals this January was up by almost 50 per cent year-on-year.”
Indonesian travellers’ total hotel overnight stays last year were 69,615, down nine per cent from 2013. But they were also among the big Asian spenders with US$318 per day, alongside China and India which recorded US$348 and US$298 respectively, according to Switzerland Tourism’s data.
While Indonesian outbound travel players TTG Asia e-Daily spoke with acknowledged rising interest for Switzerland, they are not anticipating major business growth with the country being more expensive than other European destinations plus the high Swiss franc against the US and Asian currencies.
Fachri Kurniawan, general manager, PanTravel, said: “Indonesian travellers spend a lot for shopping, but they are price sensitive when it comes to tours and accommodation.”
However, Derzic highlighted: “The Swiss franc depreciated in February, and the downward trend is continuing. I’m sure there will be a very acceptable situation for Asian tourists.”
