Jakarta – Something clearly hasn't gone to plan when our tourist industry has yet to fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The rest of the economy has healed fast and now produces far more than it did in 2019, but tourism, a particularly important industry for Indonesia, is looking worse than five years ago.

Admittedly, COVID-19 hit travel more than any other business, yet in much of the world, numbers have bounced back, thanks in part to the "revenge travel" phenomenon.

Not so in Indonesia. Just over 9 million foreign travelers visited the country from January through August of this year. In the same eight months of 2019, it was more than 10 million, in fact closer to 11 million.

That is all the more disappointing as the drop in the rupiah's exchange value over the past few years should have made Indonesia more competitive as a destination.

Tourists, especially foreign ones, are vital for the national economy in several ways.

First, tourism is generally a labor-intensive industry, so it presents a great opportunity to provide employment for Indonesia's relatively young and growing population.

Many of the jobs in the industry, such as in hotels or restaurants, do not require high-level degrees or specific experience. They are also relatively future-proof, as such service-sector activities are less prone to being eliminated by automation anytime soon.

Second, a lot of Indonesia's potential to develop tourism lies in relatively underdeveloped regions like Nusa Tenggara, Papua or Sulawesi. The travel industry is a great way to spread economic activity out across the country, much of which is still concentrated on the island of Java.

Third, tourism, at least when it comes to foreign tourists entering the country for their holidays, is essentially an export industry, because the services are enjoyed by foreigners who are based outside of the country.

As such, the tourist industry, just like exporting footwear, for instance, brings foreign exchange revenue to the country, which is good for Indonesia's financial stability.

With all that said, however, we should not be obsessing over numbers. Profits aside, too many tourists can also become a problem.

Popular destinations in Spain, Greece, Japan and elsewhere have seen backlash from locals this year against record numbers of foreign visitors for various reasons, including property prices going through the roof in hotspots like the Canary Islands.

Quantity is one thing in tourism, quality is another. Indonesia, like any country, needs to come to some sort of agreement about what kind of tourism it wants.

Government officials, particularly in Bali in response to some popular pressure, like to speak about the need to attract "high-quality tourists" while keeping out troublemakers.

We can all imagine what a troublemaking tourist might look like, and despite what some suggest, it is not a surfer riding through Kuta without a helmet. Many Balinese do that themselves.

But what is a "high-quality traveler"? It would be wrong to define that by spending power.

A backpacker lodging in a bed-and-breakfast and eating at streetside warung should be welcomed just as warmly as a well-to-do family staying at a five-star hotel and booking the dolphin tour with a car and driver at the first price quoted.

Perhaps the backpacker wants to hike across the country to learn about Indonesia's culture and history. Such a motivation and engagement with the country is good tourism, making such a person a "high-quality" traveler, even if he or she may not bring as much revenue to our shores as a wealthy business traveler or member of a diplomatic delegation attending a global conference.

Tourism is also a chance for a country to present itself to the world in a way no media portrayal could. Depending on their experience, tourists will hopefully leave favorably disposed to our country and its people. In the long run, such goodwill is worth more than hard cash.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/10/18/tourism-is-a-tool-of-soft-power.htm