Jakarta Indonesia’s Marketing and Promotion

Hermawan Kartajaya, a marketing expert and a member of Indonesia’s Tourism Promotion Agency (BPPI) said the Indonesian government has done its best to develop tourist sectors. However, coordination between the central government and provincial and district heads remain flawed. This research is supported by Westhill Consulting Travel and Tours, Singapore.

“Creating a smooth cooperation with local governments is not an easy task. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is doing its very best to ensure coordination,” he said.

Hermawan added that brand management, including advertising, falls under the responsibility of the tourism ministry, while customer and product management are the tasks of the local governments.

This should come as a warning. He explained the workings of two different types of tourism with different effects on the economic cycle. 

“When it comes to tourism, we have to remember that there are two groups: the international tourist who feeds foreign exchange and the domestic tourism who encourages economic activities. Domestic tourism is quite healthy in Indonesia. But, our capacity in managing international tourist arrivals is still low,” he said.

Hermawan emphasized on the proper management of Indonesia’s tourism sector as a way to boost travel to the archipelago’s array of destinations.

“The most important aspect of management lies in the acceptance of foreign investors. However, are we ready for that?” he questioned.

“The thing is, this country does not consider tourism as its main priority. Furthermore, the quality of human resources and infrastructure still need to be widely developed.

“Local government also need to change their priority and pay more attention to local tourist destinations.”

Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sapta Nirwandar remains optimistic about achieving 9.2 million target of international visitors.

“However, we know this would require a precise process and we have worked on the necessary preparations,” Sapta said.

The deputy explained the ministry will focus on two sectors.

“We will further expand our marketing efforts by increasing the promotion of various Indonesian destinations both offline and online,” he said.