Security Badly Needed in Tourism Industry

By Barrie | August 10th, 2007 | No Comments

Safety and security are musts in the tourism industry, but equally important is making sure the world is aware of them, tourism officials and operators agreed.

With Indonesia’s tourism industry having taken a serious battering over the last 10 years — dealing with issues such as the economic crisis, bird flu, terrorism and natural disasters — State Ministry of Culture and Tourism secretary general Sapta Nirwanda said there is a need to reconstruct the country’s image overseas while continuing to make physical improvements and strengthen security matters.

He praised the National Police for their success in fighting terror and capturing terror suspects, but said their achievements needed to be publicized around the world.

“By announcing their success, it means the government, society and every stakeholder is serious in handling the (security) problem. This is the key factor for future success in the tourism business,” Sapta told journalists.

He made the statement during a press conference after the opening of the 5th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Tourism Meeting in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, on Wednesday.

The two-day meeting is being attended by more than 60 tourism officials and operators from the three countries, including West Sumatra Deputy Governor Marlis Rahman and deputy secretary general of tourism at the Malaysian Tourism Ministry Abdul Ghaffar bin A. Tambi, who is heading his delegation.

The IMT-GT cooperation currently consists of eight provinces in southern Thailand, eight states of Malaysia and 10 provinces on Sumatra Island in Indonesia. Southern Thailand and northern Malaysia share a land border while Malaysia and southern Thailand are separated from Sumatra by the Malacca Strait.

Head of delegates from Thailand Sasithara Pichaichannarong said safety and security were a must but information was crucial.

She said that following the Java earthquake in May last year, which hit Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java, many tourists canceled their trips to Indonesia, thinking the disaster had affected the whole country.

“There is a need to report the situation to the world — where is the disaster and what is the scale of destruction,” said Pichaichannarong, who is deputy permanent secretary of Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry.

“To help bring in more people to the country, to yours as well as in mine, you have to inform the tourists.”

Sapta said that through the IMT-GT cooperation, which began in 1993, the three countries could work together to face problems.
The IMT-GT sub-region is a classic growth triangle characterized by many economic complementarities, geographical proximity and close historical, cultural and linguistic ties.

The region also has a vast potential for development, given the large amount of land, abundant workforce, rich natural resources and a sizable internal market of nearly 70 million people put altogether.

In its 2007-2011 road map, the IMT-GT plans to become a special economic cooperation area, with concerted and systematic efforts to be taken in the next five years to, among others, reduce the cost of doing business, facilitate the start-up and operation of business ventures, increase the area’s competitiveness as well as promoting its attractiveness as a tourist and investment destination and production base.

Sapta said that during the two-day meeting, the officials and tourism operators would discuss various issues, including possible air linkage and sea transport.

Several cooperations being discussed include construction of a port facility for ferry services connecting Kantang in Thailand, Belawan in Indonesia and Penang in Malaysia.

There is also a plan to build airports to connect tourist destinations in Banda Aceh, Medan, Nias Island and Padang in Indonesia with Langkawi, Ipoh, Kota Byahru, Penang and Alor Setar in Malaysia; as well as to Thailand’s Hat Yai, Narathiwat, Pattani, Trang and Nakhon Si Tmamarat.

“We are also supporting a joint marketing program linking the three countries through a Web site to provide easy access for people searching for tourist destinations,” Sapta said.

The meeting will also discuss plans to release a hotel directory and promote homestay networking as alternative to hotels.

“With this networking, people who live in areas that do not have enough facilities but have beautiful tourist attractions can benefit from the tourism industry as well,” Sapta said.

Stevie Emilia