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ublicly listed tour and travel agency Bayu Buana will expand its business by opening 15 branch offices in major cities, adding to its existing 18 branches, amid an expected surge in the country’s tourism industry.

Bayu Buana President Director Agustinus Kasjaya Pake Seko said in Jakarta recently that the expansion plan was part of the company’s preparation to support the government’s goal to have 20 million foreign tourists by 2019, double the 2015 figure.

Seven of the new branch offices would be opened in 2017 and the other eight in 2018.

At present, Bayu Buana has 12 branches in Jakarta along with a branch in the following six cities, Balikpapan, Bandung, Bogor, Cilegon, Denpasar and Surabaya.

With the opening of the new branches, the company hopes to be able to access the surge in travel demand, especially from the country’s middle class.

He said the establishment of the new branches was important to attract new customers, especially the growing middle class, despite the growing popularity of purchasing tickets online.

Even though e-commerce is booming and travelers are becoming more digitally-oriented, Agustinus argued baby boomers, who were born between 1945 and 1965, still prefer direct service.

“The baby boomer generation appreciates direct service and does not consider price as heavily,” he said.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration is making an extra effort to develop the country’s tourism industry to contribute 15 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) by 2019 from 9.3 percent at present. Tourism, which now sits in fourth place behind crude palm oil (CPO) and oil and gas, is also expected to double foreign exchange income to US$20 billion.

In meeting the targets, the government has made free visas available to visitors from almost every country around the world and recently introduced 10 new tourist destinations as part of its program to meet the target.

The 10 new destinations are Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Morotai in North Maluku and Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung.

Bayu Buana travel agents also plan to add more minibuses to the subsidiary Bayu Buana Transport to accommodate large numbers of visitors. Currently, it has 20 minibuses.

Local guides, who are considered the frontline during tourists’ visits, would also be trained to improve their soft skills, Agustinus added. The training would be done at least twice a year, and it would focus on guides in Bali, as Bali is still the most popular tourist destination.

He said he was optimistic that the agency’s revenue, which is primarily derived from airplane ticket sales, would increase in 2017 because he is sure that the country’s economy will grow, prompting people to travel.

As of September, Bayu Buana booked Rp 1.13 trillion (US$85.88 million) revenue, a 12 percent increase year-on-year from Rp 1.03 trillion in the corresponding period last year.

However, its net profit dropped 14 percent to Rp 15.64 trillion from Rp 18.26 trillion from the same period last year. (wnd)