These stereotypes are unfortunately not too far off the mark. According to the Culture and Education Ministry's Culture Director General, Hilmar Farid, a large number of the country's 400 museums suffer from a wide range of problems, from poor management to a lack of curators.

Many museums, however, have been hard at work these past few years to address these problems and attract more visitors. Chief among them is House of Sampoerna in Surabaya, East Java. The museum has consistently been rated the country's best museum tourist destination, and for good reason.

It goes beyond simply housing and teaching about historical relics, and gives visitors an exciting experience in local history through engaging presentations and excellent hospitality. The museum is a place where visitors can learn the history of PT HM Sampoerna Tbk. and see for themselves how the company's signature kretek (clove cigarettes) are produced by hand.

What makes House of Sampoerna so different is the way it presents these exhibits. The entire visitor experience engages all of your senses.  From the moment you enter the air-conditioned venue, you are greeted with the smell of pure tobacco and cloves, some of which you can directly touch and feel. Instead of the usual silent museum ambience, visitors get to hear top songs from the 1940’s, adding to the historical atmosphere.

Particular attention has been paid to the arrangement of the exhibits to make them aesthetically appealing. A human touch is also part of the experience, as the guides and employees all do their part to make you feel welcome.

The guides at the museum are young people ready to enthusiastically share their knowledge about the exhibits. What's more, they can also serve as city guides. If you have any questions about Surabaya’s history in general or which sights and sounds you can enjoy next, these guides can point you in the right direction.

"Guests are always made to feel welcome. We want them to enjoy a warm reception and put them in a good mood before they even see the exhibits. As awesome as the collections are, hospitality and service is also important for us," said Ina Silas, the museum's general manager.

However, although these people are passionate about Surabaya, they are not intrusive. If you just want to be left alone to look at the museum's exhibits independently, you can simply do so and make use of the various scannable QR codes spread throughout to learn more at your own pace.

Since 2009, House of Sampoerna has also expanded the boundaries of the museum with its Surabaya Heritage Track (SHT). Through the program, visitors can enjoy a sightseeing tour of Old Surabaya in the northern part of the city on a sightseeing bus entirely free of charge. The historical buildings that can be seen on the tour turn parts of the city into an "outdoor museum," where you can witness living history.

Then there are the workshops and discussions the museum regularly holds, as well as the temporary exhibits not related to Sampoerna held every month. All of this helps transform House of Sampoerna into more than just a museum, and more of a cultural center.

House of Sampoerna isn’t alone though in focusing on providing a hospitality experience to its visitors. Since mid-2008, it has been working together with other museums throughout the country to improve the quality and image of museums.

Its efforts have paid off. The museum’s attendance numbers have significantly improved since 2005, when it would only get 1,500 to 2,000 visitors per month. The number of monthly visitors is now 17,000, with the figure rising to 19,000 on busier months. Many museums have now gone on to copy House of Sampoerna’s sightseeing tourism concept. Museum heads from Yogyakarta have also visited House of Sampoerna to learn more about its visitor-friendly method of hospitality and communications.

Since 2013, House of Sampoerna has also been consistently named one of the top 10 museums in the country, with one of its more recent accolades being TripAdvisor's Certificate of Excellence 2017. "We want to show that museums aren't just boring and dusty old sheds to place historical exhibits. Museums can be fun places where people can not only learn, but also get a unique experience out of it," Ina said.

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