INDONESIA’s Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Hatta Rajasa, has called upon the country’s regional tourism stakeholders to focus on drumming up ‘tourism fever’ in their respective precincts, as the country’s burgeoning middle class continues to develop a taste for travel.

Speaking during a keynote session at the inaugural Indonesia Tourism Conference in Jakarta, Rajasa said: “Our average income per capita has been growing, and has reached around US$3,500. The middle class is growing by between eight to nine million people a year. These are new potential tourists. The trend today is for couples and young people to travel and explore exciting places.”

He added: “It is no longer enough to have awareness on the importance of tourism, but to create ‘tourism fever’ to boost local economies and open up job opportunities.”

Rajasa also pointed out that tourism had been a resilient sector during the global economic crisis in 2008/2009.

“The economic crisis resulted in the contraction of world tourism by 30 per cent, but at that time international arrivals to Indonesia was up by 0.3 per cent. That is why the central government is giving so much attention to this sector,” he explained.

INDONESIA’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has decided to focus on coaxing growth out of ASEAN, Asia, Australia, Russia and the Middle East next year, due to the economic slowdown in Europe and the US.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, said: “We are fully aware of the economic slowdown in Europe and the US, and the potential drop in arrivals from (those) markets plus Japan (next year).”

“However, there are markets around here whose economy is viable, such as ASEAN, several Asian countries like China, Taiwan, India and South Korea, and Australia, Russia and the Middle East. These will be our focus.”

Based on the 6.27 million arrivals recorded from January to October, the global crises had minimal impact on Indonesia’s inbound tourism, which looks on course to reach its target of 7.7 million arrivals for the year.

Pangestu was also optimistic that Indonesia would hit its target of eight million arrivals next year. “This is not the first time we are facing (a global economic crisis). In 2009, we managed to achieve positive growth even if it was only 0.3 per cent,” she said.

THE INDONESIA government is setting aside 400 trillion rupiah (US$44 billion) in funds for infrastructure development, as part of a plan to improve connectivity within the country by 2014.

“Indonesia has set a target to achieve 20 million (overseas) arrivals by 2025. This will not be achieved without supporting regulation and infrastructure development,” said Indonesia Coordinating Minister for the Ecomony, Hatta Rajasa.

“Connectivity – by this I mean domestically we are integrated, globally we are connected – is a major pillar in the Indonesian economic development. Connectivity will be the backbone to achieving our targets.”

“The government will not hesitate to inject the money to build (infrastructure) in areas which have potential (for tourism) but are not viable because of accessibility,” he added.

Rajasa gave examples of areas in Eastern Indonesia, such as Wakatobi in South East Sulawesi, and North Maluku, which have pristine nature offerings but limited accessibility.

“I have invited the transportation related businesses to come up with proposals of destinations where they see potential but are lacking in infrastructure,” he said.

THE THAILAND Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO) are joining hands to provide professional development training for congress organisers in South-east Asia.

So far, the two organisations have signed a Letter of Intent to provide and host regional seminars from 2013 to 2015.

Akapol Sorasuchart, TCEB President, said: “TCEB is keenly aware of the importance of regional co-operation to boost professional standards within the industry. We expect this partnership to make a major contribution to boosting standards of meetings, conventions, congresses and special events in Thailand and the entire South-east Asian region.”

Akapol added: “We expect the forthcoming economic integration within ASEAN in 2015 to drive a major expansion of the events industry in South-east Asia, and it is therefore crucial to ensure that we start now to develop world-class expertise within the region in order to meet global industry standards.”

Philippe Fournier, president of IAPCO, said: “IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. We’re excited at the prospect of interacting with industry leaders around South-east Asia.”

MANDARIN Orchard Singapore, Dynasty Travel and Vital Shared Services have emerged as the winners of PATA Singapore Chapter’s second Our Productivity Story competition.

The three winners, representing the best productivity efforts from the competition’s hotel, travel agent and other services categories respectively, were each presented with a cash prize of S$8,000 (US$6,230) during the annual Tourism Industry Ball held last Friday in Singapore.

Jointly organised by PATA Singapore Chapter and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the annual competition is aimed at recognising and encouraging the productivity efforts of Singapore’s travel and tourism sector.

Robin Yap, PATA Singapore Chapter activities chairman and managing director Singapore, The Travel Corporation, said: “We hope that the competition will continue to encourage more organisations to embrace productivity, and that their stories will become an annual showcase to mark the industry’s achievements.”

Dynasty Travel, the competition’s travel agent category winner, invested in technology to raise service and product innovation standards. Through employing the use of iPads, Dynasty was able to enhance the booking process by giving customers a better understanding of travel choices and enabling travel consultants to go on house/office calls.

VISITBRITAIN’s marketing efforts in Hong Kong have been incorporated into the NTO’s greater China operations, as part of a restructuring that saw its long-serving manager for Hong Kong & South China, Jane Fong, leave in September.

Fong, who had worked for VisitBritain for about 22 years, is now on an extended sabbatical.

At the moment, VisitBritain’s footprint in Hong Kong consists of a representative who reports directly to its manager for China and Hong Kong, Travis Qian, who is based in Shanghai.

“Hong Kong is now incorporated fully into the China market, and is supported not only by our Hong Kong and South China representative, but also the wider China team in Beijing and Shanghai,” Qian explained.

“Though the size of our team physically based in Hong Kong may have been reduced, we have a bigger budget, and we (the whole of China team) are working closely with our airline partner and public diplomacy partners to gear up our marketing efforts under the GREAT campaign in China (including Hong Kong).”

The NTO hosted last week a group of 32 organisations and 75 travel experts from the UK on a trade mission to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 2).

Meanwhile, VisitBritain is looking forward to plans by Hong Kong Airlines to launch Hong Kong-London (Gatwick) services in March and Air China to start Beijing-London (Gatwick) services in May.

VisitBritain strategy & communications director, Patricia Yates, said: “This will help enormously (with alleviating concerns about air lift). The more connections the UK has with China, the better, because at Heathrow it is now nearly impossible to give slots away.”

THE SRI Lanka government has approved a proposal by India’s ITC Hotels, a franchise of US-based Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, to set up a Sheraton hotel and mixed-use development in Colombo.

The US$300 million property will be built on two hectares of land in the heart of the capital, which has been offered to ITC on a 99-year lease.

Malin Hapugoda, managing director of Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels, welcomed the news, saying that the entry of large international hotel chains would improve the country’s image, dented in the past by a civil war which ended in 2009.

“Bringing in these super brands is what we need to change Sri Lanka’s image,” he said.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia-Pacific said in an email statement to TTG Asia e-Daily that it was not involved nor aware of the discussions, which it insisted were strictly between ITC and the Sri Lankan government.

The chain said, however, that it was in discussions with different owners and developers to manage a number of hotel projects in Sri Lanka including Colombo, under several of Starwood’s brands.

Hilton Worldwide and Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces are among a handful of international operators already in Sri Lanka.

Other chains planning to establish a presence include Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Six Senses Resorts & Spas and Movenpick Hotels & Resorts.

EXOTISSIMO Travel has published a 48-page guide detailing its MICE services in the region.

Measuring 20 x 20cm, the brochure reveals the array of creative opportunities Exotissimo can provide for MICE groups travelling to South-east Asia and Japan, ranging from a selection of meetings facilities to incentive opportunities and memorable events.

The brochure highlights key destinations and a case study for each of the seven countries where Exotissimo offers its services, including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and Japan.

EXPEDIA has launched its Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) in Malaysia, and is offering a 300 ringgit (US$96) bonus on top of commissions for the first 3,000 ringgit worth of bookings for new partners.

Travel experts who sign up with TAAP will gain access to Expedia’s global inventory of 145,000 hotels, be able to check availability of hotel rooms, activities and flights, and make bookings in real time.

Commission levels for TAAP are up to 10 per cent on hotels and activities, and 1.5 per cent on flights when booked as part of a package.

“Our Travel Agent Affiliate Program has been extremely successful in Europe, America, and Asia-Pacific, and we are very excited to bring it to the travel agent community in Malaysia,” said Charee Guico, travel agent distribution manager Southeast Asia, Expedia.

“We recognize that offline agents are a critical part of the travel landscape, and TAAP provides the perfect way for Expedia to work with this community,” she added.

TAAP was first launched in Italy in 2002 and has since expanded to the rest of Europe, America and Asia-Pacific. In South-east Asia, TAAP was introduced in Singapore in June (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 8), and currently has 3,000 partners in Asia-Pacific.

For more information, visit access.expedia.com.my or call (603) 2715-5015.

A VISITBRITAIN entourage consisting of 32 UK-based organisations and 75 travel experts embarked last week on a series of B2B appointments in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The representatives were drawn together to share the latest updates and product offerings from the UK, with the aim of capturing business from China’s growing middle class.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, VisitBritain strategy & communications director, Patricia Yates, said: “What makes this mission different is more retail organizations are taking part, such as department stores Selfridges, Harrods, Westfield London and Bicester Village.

“It’s because the domestic (UK) market has softened for shopping that they are targeting the Chinese market who are traditionally high spenders.”

According to Yates, the Chinese market to the UK has matured quickly and is moving towards exploring outside of London.

“When courting the China market, the travel trade is vital,” she added. “We therefore work closely with them through things such as the incentive scheme with British Airways, which is set to launch next year. For FITs, we link up with the English Premier (football) League to tour Chinese within Britain.”

Statistics provided by VisitBritain indicate strong growth in mainland Chinese traffic to the UK—109,000 visitors in 2010, a 23 per cent hike over 2009. During the first nine months of 2011, the numbers jumped by a further 23 per cent.

Yates is anticipating even more Chinese visitors in 2012, with a whole year of celebrations highlighted by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“It’s a good time to see real buzz in London,” she said. “Moreover, weak currency (the pound compared to the Chinese yuan) benefits tourism and I am surprised it has taken so long to get the message across to the Chinese market.”

She added: “We also have a British Airways and VisitBritian joint promotion campaign launched in October, with special fare promotions in Hong Kong and China in phase one, and more trade promotions to be launched early next year.”