After years of receiving mostly domestic tourists, Belitung is now getting ready to make its mark in the international travel community, with its first regency tourism board and destination branding in the works as well as new direct flights from Singapore.
Data released by Belitung Tourism Office showed there were a total 380,941 arrivals in 2017, comprising of 371,338 domestic visitors and 9,603 foreign visitors. This was an increase over 2016, when 292,885 visitors arrived in Belitung, 285,773 domestic and 7,112 foreign visitors.
Isyak Meirobie, the newly appointed deputy regent of Belitung told TTG Asia: “We are trying to promote Belitung as a holiday destination to grow visitor arrivals. I’m planning to form the Belitung Tourism Board which will be responsible for destination promotion.”
He also intends to get the destination ready for tourists by standardising tourism boats often used for island hopping, in addition to working on visitor-friendly facilities such as hospitals, land transportation and smart city digital capabilities.
Meanwhile in the private sector, the Belitung Chapter of the Association of the Indonesian tours and travel Agencies (ASITA) is stepping up regional promotions.
Karmila Santy, chairman of ASITA Belitung Chapter, said the association was conducting more sales missions, attending trade shows as well as organising fam trips for international agents and media.
Karmila lauded Garuda Indonesia’s recent launch of Singapore-Belitung flights. So far, visitors considering Belitung have ended up opting for other destinations as access to the former had to be through Jakarta, Batam, Pangkal Pinang and other gateway cities.
“Thankfully, now there is direct Singapore-Belitung flights by Garuda Indonesia. This gives us great hope with Singapore and Malaysia still the biggest (potential) markets for Belitung,” said Karmila.
Since last year, ASITA Belitung has been actively selling to the Singapore market. ASITA also held a sales mission several times to Singapore to offer Belitung.
Karmila explained: “In future, we want to develop Chinese tourists. Belitung is in accordance with the characteristics of Chinese tourists who like the beach, and Singaporean who want to relax at the weekend.”
Yudianto Evan Setiawan, director of the Billitonesia Tour, has seen growing interest from niche segments such as scientist and geopark adventure tourists.
“The government efforts to register the Belitung geopark (for UNESCO consideration) received a good response from adventure tourists. We also see a lot of scientists who are interested in coming to research the nature of Belitung,” he continued.
Up to now, however, he admitted that Belitung’s potentials have been latent, being constrained by infrastructure and lack of creativity in packaging tours.
Yudianto added: “Belitung has 200 islands, and most of them have not been explored. So tourism potential is still large, and tourists should not be bored because there are always new islands and attractions to be explored, including geoparks for nature and adventure seekers.”
Azizan Noordin will step down as CEO of Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) on November 30, with industry members of the opinion that the Malaysian tourism veteran is ending his tenure on a high note.
With his replacement yet to be named, deputy CEO Asri Redha Abdul Rahman will helm the organisation in the interim.
Azizan may only have been in active service for 24 months, but he has made a significant impact on the island’s inbound tourism, which some attribute partly to his time at Tourism Malaysia, where he served for over 38 years before retiring in 2016 as deputy director-general (promotion).
Adam Kamal, secretary-general at Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, said: “Azizan has done a wonderful job. One of the first things he did when he came into office was to draw up a calendar of events which has generally helped all inbound agents to plan their marketing campaigns so that it coincides with these events.
“He also had big ideas on developing Langkawi’s appeal and he worked tirelessly to attract more foreign airlines and charters to fly to Langkawi.”
Eric R Sinnaya, managing director, Morahols Travel and also the executive council member of Malaysia Tourism Council, said: “Azizan has brought a lot of positive changes to Langkawi. He has a tourism-related mindset and he knew what holiday makers wanted and that creating sporting and musical events in Langkawi will attract more tourists and millennials. He also had the respect and support from the private sector. In turn, he listened to their issues and found amicable solutions.”
Under his leadership and guidance, LADA organised 33 tourism events in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Some of these events become part of the annual tourism calendar for Langkawi, including the Royal Langkawi Classic Car Show, The Royal Langkawi Superbike Show and Langkawi Island Blues & Roots Aseana.
Ironman Malaysia, held in Langkawi earlier this month, attracted 2,400 participants from 70 countries. Azizan said that counting coaches, family and friends of participants, the destination welcomed around 7,000 visitors on the island for the event.
Moreover, Azizan and his team at LADA co-organised this year’s PATA Travel Mart (PTM) with Tourism Malaysia, a first for the state of Kedah.
Speaking to TTG Asia, Azizan said he is very proud of the execution of PTM and its role in raising awareness of Langkawi as an island destination for tourism at an international level.
Organising the show was done on a tight budget and required the co-operation with the private sector and the Langkawi Tourism Association.
He elaborated: “PTM has attracted quality buyers and we are seeing new agents from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Germany who are now selling Langkawi. We are also seeing increased visitors from China, Saudi Arabia and India.”
He is also instrumental in promoting Langkawi as the gateway to the northern mainland states of Perlis and Kedah.
As well, in his time at LADA, he has worked to improve air connectivity and was able to attract charter flights from China, some of which became scheduled flights.
He added that Qatar Airways has shown interest and that soon, there will be direct flights between Langkawi and India.
Azizan said he will continue to serve as vice chairman of PATA until mid 2019 and wishes to continue to be active in the tourism industry. He further shared that he is hoping to be attached to a local travel-related agency and PATA member so he can continue as vice president at PATA into the next term.