Letters: Don't belittle budget tourism

Perhaps Indonesia could concentrate on the budget end of the tourism market, at least in the short-term. The budget end of the market can be very lucrative, including young budget travelers or backpackers.

Unfortunately for Indonesians their currency is weak, but in the tourism industry this is an advantage to be ruthlessly exploited. Budget travelers have the advantage of spreading their spending across many small tourist operators, giving normal Indonesian people the chance to benefit from tourism rather than just the large hotel chains and expensive boutique outlets.

Budget travelers also spend more time in a country and visit more places. As a result, they spread their spending out geographically and across the time of their stay. In the long run, they may spend as much as a week-long, resort tourist in Bali. Indonesia could advertise itself as adventure destination; brand itself as exciting for a specific market.

I had a conversation some years ago with an Indonesian consul in Perth. I thought it was crazy that Indonesia had changed its visa regulations to make everyone pay more on entry and reduce the length of people's stay. I thought they should do the opposite to try to attract budget tourists.

However, the official I talked to justified it by saying that Australian visa regulations made Indonesians pay money and limited their stays, so why shouldn't Indonesia do the same. Government policy should be made in the best interests of the nation rather than in a tit-for-tat mentality.

Davo
Broome, Australia