Skip to main content

Indonesia’s tourism industry set to grow


Indonesia is now poised to become a popular holiday destination for national and international tourists. The growing tourism sector is becoming economically significant. Against that backdrop, the third South East Asia Hotel Expansion Summit 2014 gathered key industry stakeholders and service providers from Indonesia’s travel and tourism sector to discuss the market outlook and potential business opportunities.

Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the prestigious list of speakers at the 3rd Annual SEA Expansion Summit 2014 held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized how the tourism sector boosts the economy. 2014 saw a record number of inbound tourist arrivals, at 8.6 million.

He shared that Indonesia’s travel and tourism sector is expected to grow further due to the implementation of a common ASEAN Visa, expected by the end of 2015.

However, the nation still struggles with challenges such as excessive competition in the aviation industry, which has seen smaller airlines closing down due to debt issues and a lack of infrastructure. This has curbed intra and inter island connectivity. Moreover, a general lack of English language proficiency amongst Indonesians tends to impede service levels in the foreign tourist sector.

Nonetheless, these problems are being tackled. The government plans to allocate USD140 billion for further transport infrastructure development. The government has also been taking steps to preserve Indonesia’s tropical rainforest. It introduced a logging moratorium in 2011 which is still in force. This will auger well for Indonesia’s high-potential eco-tourism sector.

Jeffrey Bahar’s presentation deck on “Overview and trends in Tourism sector” can be found here.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Express Pharma Magazine 16th to 30th November 2013 National

API manufacturers need to relook business processes to operate more efficiently                                                                                                                                                                                  

A room-sized 3D printer?

Torbjørn Ludvigsen is a Swedish inventor whose company – Replicating Rapid Prototyper (RepRap) – is busy raising funds to develop the Hangprinter. This suspended 3D printer uses the walls and ceiling of a room as its “frame” and can be used to print furniture-sized objects in an entire room. While cable-driven 3D printers already exist, this 3D printer is different. It uses a frameless 3-D printing system which is cheaper to assemble – a mere USD250. It uses an entire house as a 3D printer frame and all parts of the suspended 3D printer are mounted on a single moving unit. The self-replicating machine is designed to manufacture a large fraction of its own parts. Will RepRap revolutionize the construction of low-cost buildings for developing nations? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/a-room-size-3d-printer/

The Earthquake in Nepal jolts the economy

Nepal – one of the poorest countries in the world – had a rude awakening when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 25 April 2015. The impact was tragic. Casualties continue to rise, with immense damage to infrastructure. Will the nation be able to pick up the shattered pieces of its economy? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. With the estimated cost of rehabilitation set to hit USD5 billion – a quarter of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD20 billion in 2014 – the economic impact of the earthquake is massive. According to United Nation’s data, 8 million people are directly in the line of fire. Both agriculture – with well over 70% of the population employed in this sector – and tourism have been badly afflicted. Perera opined that the disaster will also impact the nation’s ability to grow and transport fresh food – the agricultural sector alone accounts for 38% of GDP. Moreover, ...

Harnessing social innovation for Malaysia’s progress

The Social Impact Innovation Challenge by Berbudi Berganda – driven by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (National Innovation Agency) – brought together individuals across Malaysia to scout for innovative solutions for Malaysia’s social development. Carried out over a period of 10 weeks, 12 finalists were shortlisted out of 300 entries using selection criteria that spanned three parameters – innovation, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Yap Far Loon, Business Development Director, Telecommunication of Spire Research and Consulting, was among the Challenge panelists interviewed on BFM 89.9 (The Business Radio Station) for the Live and Learn show. He shared his views on how to measure impact of social innovation. This Social Impact Innovation Challenge strives to turn innovative ideas into realities. To explain the impact of social innovation, Far Loon uses a simple demand-supply model. Supply here refers to the finalists. Demand refers to the beneficiaries, such as people with low-inco...

The race to invest in Vietnam – How FDI is changing Vietnam’s economy and society

Vietnam’s economy has been among the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. Today, it is a key destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the region. In 2016, FDI climbed to USD24.4 billion, a 9 per cent growth compared to 2015. This is despite Vietnam suffering an epic drought in 2016 and a third of its vast population of 93 million people living in poverty. Vietnam has won a reputation as a cheaper manufacturing hub compared to China. Could FDI propel Vietnam to become Asia’s next Tiger economy? A growing economy With a USD200 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Vietnam’s economy is tracking well since the start of deep economic reforms – known as Doi Moi – in 1986. Since 1990, its GDP per capita growth has been one of the fastest among emerging economies, at an average 6.4 per cent (yearly) growth in the 2000s. Vietnam has improved provision of basic services. In 2014, the part of the population living below poverty line fell to 13.5 per cent – down from approxim...