I can'€˜t speak  for Australians personally, but I'€˜ve spent plenty of time hanging around backpackers and  many have shown  great interest in my Indonesian experiences and expressed a keen desire to visit. From Nias to Toraja to East Nusa Tenggara, there is plenty of culture, and it is the most geographically exotic country in Southeast Asia for sure.

All those volcanoes! The tourist trail on the Southeast Asian mainland is absolutely saturated too, and people are looking for something less explored and '€˜'€˜authentic'€™'€™.

If you are basing your impressions  solely on Java, Kalimantan and  Sumatra, then I might agree with you; but there is so much more out there and the very challenge of getting to those places  is half of the appeal. It might not be for everyone, but I'€˜ve certainly enjoyed traveling in Indonesia, and the further out you go, the better it is.

Devo

Try to buy a beer at a 7-11 in Scandinavia. Try to walk home from a bar through any major Western city in the middle of the night without getting robbed. Sure you don'€˜t have the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), but who needs that when you have Hells Angels or any of the other modern more civilized organizations. All nations have their problems, regardless of religion or location.

OB

I am sorry to say but I doubt very much that young people from Australia would want to spend six months traveling in Indonesia, no matter how easy you make it or how cheap it is. Australians are comparatively well educated and also very eager travelers and I doubt Indonesia has enough to hold them for long in terms of culture. I am not trying to be rude, just honest. I don'€˜t think, however cheap Indonesia is, that it is the experience most Australians would seek for a longer time, except for perhaps particular groups like surfers or deep-sea divers.

Albi

Indonesia is probably the most beautiful country in the world and very attractive for tourists. Diverting tourism to other areas would relieve Bali as its main tourist attraction. It could increase foreign tourists visiting Indonesia.

However, the President will need to push for other reforms as well, in order to succeed with his plans. Tourist areas need foreign investors to make them attractive for foreigners, because they understand their needs.

The anti-foreign sentiment that rules within the immigration and manpower ministries will need to change, as well as discussions on the ban of alcohol.

These things do not promote Indonesia at all. Why can a country like Thailand attract 25 million tourists a year and we cannot? It may be time for our politicians to look at the successes of our neighbors instead of re-inventing the wheel, which usually ends up to be a square in Indonesia

Sjen Farrail
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Topic of the day

Jero'€™s prison sentence

The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced on Tuesday former energy and mineral resources minister Jero Wacik to four years in prison for accepting bribes and misusing around Rp 5 billion (US$372,000). State prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence for embezzling state funds totaling
Rp 18 billion. What do you think about the sentence?

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