Needed: ‘Bali Baywatch’ and Toto

The Jakarta Post   |  Fri, 03/28/2008 10:03 AM  |  Dalton Tanonaka

A coincidental convergence of two international promotional campaigns flushes out one of Indonesia's basic competitive weaknesses.

“Visit Indonesia Year 2008” is aimed at boosting tourist arrivals to 7 million. You'd think that's an attainable goal when considering that tiny neighbor Singapore hit a record 10.3 million visitors in 2007.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has designated 2008 as the “International Year of Sanitation.” But regional surveys place Indonesia near the bottom in terms of hygiene infrastructure.
So believe me when I tell you the country won’t come close to hitting its tourism target. The reason is so obvious you can smell it: We don't have enough toilets. And the ones we have are filthy.

Forgive me if you think I'm being anal about this, but I'm merely stating the
number-one private concern of the world's most coveted traveller -- the Japanese.
“If the toilet is not clean, I don't want to visit there,” says Tokyo native Christine Matsui. “This is important to all Japanese.”

Forget terrorism. Don't even worry about clean drinking water. If the potty's poopy, say sayonara to higher-spending, longer-staying guests.

How important are the Japanese? It’s basic economics, according to U.S. travel statistics. On a typical vacation to Hawaii, for example, a Western tourist will spend $600 on purchases and gifts. A Japanese visitor spends $1,400.
And not only would Indonesia benefit directly from arrivals from the Land of the Rising Yen.

Their iconic trendsetting patterns almost always lead others to follow, from office workers in South Korea to socialites in Hong Kong.

So what should Indonesia have done prior to announcing its well-intentioned but hollow tourism campaign? Let's take China's example in the run-up to this summer's Olympic Games.
The Beijing city government has spent $54 million in refurbishing old public toilets and building new ones over the past three years. Tour guide Cheng Yi was quoted in the Beijing Review weekly as saying the unprecedented allocation was crucial in welcoming the expected crush of international arrivals.

“There are public toilets in hutongs (alleyways), but most of them are stinky and unclean. How are we supposed to let our foreign guests go to a toilet like that?” Cheng said.
And to promote the construction, China's public relations masters cleverly created what's called the “World Toilet Summit,” focusing on the latest comfort innovations. Now in its fourth year, the summit is like an APEC gathering with a different bottom line.

Indonesia should have started its tourism push in the middle of last year with this government news release: “Construction has begun at the international airports in Jakarta and Bali on restroom facilities featuring the latest in design and cleanliness.”

Then they should've actually gone out and built them. No better time to catch the eye, and nose, of visitors than as they emerge from a long flight seeking relief.

That would have got us in the game. We're barely on the sidelines as it is. Being a native of America's premier vacation destination, Hawaii, and having worked in the tourism industry there on the front lines as a tour guide, I humbly offer these additional simple and not-so-simple suggestions on how Indonesia can better compete for global visitors:

* “Unity in Diversity?” “Celebrating 100 Years of National Awakening?” Won't cut it on CNN. Come up with a simple and memorable country slogan along the lines of “Incredible India” or “Malaysia Truly Asia”, and stick with it for longer than a week. My offering is “Imagine Indonesia”, with ads featuring scenes and dreams of the archipelago's underpublicized treasures, such as Papua beaches and Ubud mountain retreats.

* Properly fund tourism marketing. Hawaii does it by adding a 7.25 percent tax to each hotel room bill, generating $70 million annually for promotion. Government funding for the Bali Tourism Board is zero. Start here with a 5 percent surcharge, then have an independent oversight agency meticulously monitor where the money goes.

* Do everything possible to attract movie and television projects, particularly from the United States, Japan and Korea. Build a state-of-the-art production studio and rent it cheap to international crews. Provide tax breaks and fast-track government approval. One hit Hollywood movie using Bali as a backdrop, or the on-location filming of a popular Korean TV drama in Yogyakarta would be a powerful pull for impressionable viewers bored with Bangkok and the Bahamas. Remember Hawaii Five-0?

* Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands comprising nearly 2 million square kilometers. It hopes to earn $5 billion from 7 million visitors this year. Hawaii has 8 islands and 16,000 square kilometers. It got 7.3 million tourists last year, earning $12.2 billion. Do the math, and get serious about tourism.

* And build new toilets.

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the co-anchor of Metro TV's "Indonesia Now" program, seen on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 1 a.m. He can be reached at dalton@metrotvnews.com.

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