Wonderful Indonesia

Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism is inviting Aussie tourists to get-out of their Bali comfort zone: It is inviting travellers to mix up their Bali trip to include other islands in Indonesia. It concluded the ‘Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission in Melbourne and Sydney. The invitation-only exhibition brought18 Bali hotels and resorts to connect with 150 Australian counterparts. The Ministry is pushing priority destinations Labuan Bajo and the Komodo National Park, Borobudur Temple, near Yogyakarta and neighbouring island Lombok. "The demand for Bali has increased however, Indonesia is so much more than Bali," said Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno. Almost 900,000 international visitors have visited Indonesia since January 2022, including over 100,000 Australians to Bali. The Ministry expects international arrivals to generate USD 1.7 billion in revenue from 3.6 million foreign arrivals this year.

Marriott International Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism to help boost the tourism recovery. The MoU includes collaborations covering destination marketing; and the development of talent and human resource competencies over three years. The collaboration hopes to provide opportunities for students or graduates of six Tourism Polytechnics with practical experiences and training within the company's portfolio of hotels and resorts. Ramesh Jackson, Indonesia's Area Vice President for Marriot International, said: "Collectively we aim to improve the experience for travellers and its people". "We look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with the Ministry of Tourism which has been working tirelessly to stimulate tourism.” In his statement, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, conveyed that this MoU is a concrete step towards a commitment between the public and private sector, in line with President Joko Widodo's instructions to develop a more inclusive tourism. "Marriott International is the right partner for this strategic collaboration. I look forward to this fruitful cooperation and see the positive results in the near future," said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno. With upcoming openings in Jakarta, Labuan Bajo and Manado, Marriott International operates 60 hotels and resorts in Indonesia across 19 of its global brands.

The United Kingdom is the top performing market for tourist arrivals to Indonesia based against initial target. Ministry of Tourism data shows nearly 15,000 UK travellers arrived in June, representing a performance of 1240.7% against target. Overall,the UK achieved 558.8% of its target between January and June 2022. “We are delighted to see the UK achieving so well against target. The latest statisitcs show that there really is a pent up demand for travel.“ “We expect these numbers to continue to soar for the rest of the year as the world opens up to tourism again. We would like to thank all our trade partners for their continued support to achieve these results.“ After the UK, Indonesia‘s other top  performing markets for visitor arrivals against target during the first six months of 2022 were India, Australia, China and the Netherlands.

 

The UK topped the list with an achievement of 558.8% against target for January to June

  The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia has today released statistics showing that the United Kingdom is the best performing market for tourist arrivals to Indonesia in 2022 against target. Despite all the challenges being faced by the travel industry this year, the UK achieved 558.8% of its target between January and June 2022.   The month of June alone saw arrivals of nearly 15,000 (14,888) from the UK, representing a performance of 1240.7% against target. This compares to an overall international target achievement of 224.2% of international tourist arrivals in June and of 106.6% between January and June 2022. The overall achievement of international arrivals in 2022 has reached 48.4% of the tourist target in 2022 (1,800,000 arrivals).   Commenting on the performance, VITO UK’s Country Manager, Richard Hume said: “We are delighted to see the UK achieving so well against target. Time and again, the UK market shows its resilience in bouncing back from a crisis and the latest statisitcs show that there really is a pent up demand for travel. We expect these numbers to continue to soar for the rest of the year as the world opens up to tourism again. We would like to thank all our trade partners for their continued support to achieve these results.“   The top 5 performing markets for visitor arrivals to Indonesia against target for the period between January and June 2022 were the United Kingdom, India, Australia, China and the Netherlands.

Struggling flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has sought a delay in the vote on its debt restructuring proposal. The vote was due to take place today but asked for it to be postponed until the end of the week. Airline CEO Irfan Setiaputra said it needs more time to finalise various administrative matters. It also needs to ‘harmonise the input of stakeholders’ on the restructuring proposal. Garuda entered the court-supervised restructuring last December. The restructuring process has already been extended twice. The airline says it has logged verified claims of US$9.8 billion. Garuda hopes the restructuring can reduce its debt to about $3.7 billion.

Indonesia’s Batam and Bintan islands are next on the radar for new cruise line Resorts World Cruises. It will begin cruises from Singapore to Indonesia’s nearby Batam and Bintan islands on Genting Dream from 1 July. Genting Dream will set sail two-night trips every Friday the islands which are just an hour south of the Lion City. Resorts World Cruises recently announced the ship will operate three-night sailings to Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang out of Singapore from 3 July.

During pandemic, the Asia Pacific region imposed some of the most restrictive travel curbs in the world. Now, with many countries opening up for the first time in two years, travel intent has sharply risen. Online searches for hotels and flights to the region have recorded surging growth according to data from digital marketing platform Sojern. It has identified signs of strong demand for immediate travel to the region, especially from Europe, Middle East and Africa. The APAC destinations most attractive are Indonesia, Vietnam and New Zealand. Indonesia is fuelled by interest in top destination Bali. The other countries in the region making up the top 10 international hotel bookings are Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and India. Based on the past 30 days, Sojern says international flight searches to South Korea are up 157.1% and Singapore up 138.5%. Countries with more conservative restrictions such as Japan have seen slower search growth during this period. Powered by artificial intelligence and traveller intent data, Sojern provides multichannel marketing solutions.

Indonesia has again called for a region-wide travel corridor for ASEAN counties to be fast-tracked. Indonesia is pushing for quicker progress on the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework, which has been slow. It should be implemented through individual bilateral agreements even if an arrangement between all ASEAN counties hasn’t been reached, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The ASEAN bloc has been discussing a regional travel corridor since 2020.    

After numerous false starts, Indonesia has reopened to Singapore under a travel bubble. It allows travel to the nearby tourist islands of Batam and Bintan which are a short ferry ride away. Singaporeans are subject to presenting proof of full vaccination and a negative PCR test. Visitors must also have health insurance. Visas are required for tourists who are not Singaporeans or from ASEAN countries. All arrivals must also use the PeduliLindungi contact tracing app.   Read full story

Neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia are planning a travel corridor between the two countries allowing quarantine-free access for vaccinated travellers. According to a joint briefing by Malaysia Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesian President Joko Widodo it would open vaccinated travel lanes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Jakarta and Bali. It would likely begin for fully vaccinated people traveling for business or humanitarian reasons. It comes days after Malaysia and Singapore agreed to start a VTL between KL and Singapore Changi Airport.   Read full story

Indonesia's Tourism Ministry has partnered with TV network AXN Asia to promote the nation's priority tourism destinations across the region. They are launching an original TV and digital series, called AXN Ultimate Challenge Indonesia this month. It will showcase priority destinations Labuan Bajo, Mandalika in Lombok, as well as Bali. It will consist of six 15-minute episodes highlighting the different cultures, food, nature; and various activities. AXN Ultimate Challenge Indonesia premieres on AXN Asia from 25 November 2021,  and  will air two episodes each week.   Read full story

Indonesia's Tourism Minister has called for urgent action to safeguard the immediate future of cash-strapped Garuda Indonesia. Sandiago Uno said another wholesale restructuring is its only hope of surviving its current financial plight. "We should collectively back the restructuring plan since Garuda is a national flag carrier. We must do anything to save Garuda,"  he said. He said restructuring is the most viable option on the table. Other options have been put forward such as allowing state-owned charter airline Pelita Air take over Garuda's operations. Garuda Indonesia Director Irfan Setiaputra said the company is continuing steps to improve its business performance, and has been in talks with key creditors for several months. It defaulted on a large 'Sukuk' Islamic loan earlier this year and has been returning planes to lessors to cut expenditure. The government is reluctant to bail out the airline again given its huge asset-debt deficit. The airline has few major assets and nearly all its aircraft fleet are leased. "If we meet a dead-end, we will close Garuda down because injecting more state money is impossible given the company's massive debt loads," Kartiko Wirjoatmodjo, deputy for the state-own enterprises minister said last week. Kartiko added that even if it survives this latest crisis, it will emerge much smaller and long haul routes will likely be shelved. Bloomberg reported this week that it needs about $1 billion just to stay afloat and the government is open to relinquishing its majority stake, Wirjoatmodjo says. "We continue to negotiate and communicate with all creditors to reach the best settlement and debt restructuring that will improve the company's fundamental performance," Garuda corporate secretary Mitra Piranti said in a recent filing to the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Garuda is still regarded as a quality airline but has been hampered by poor leadership for years. Two former CEOs have been convicted of fraud and corruption in the past couple of years.