TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Indonesians not interested in going to Rio Games

Indonesians seem disinterested when it comes to flying to Rio de Janeiro to witness and support Indonesian Olympians competing in the 2016 Rio Summer Games, which begin on Aug

Adil Akbar (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, July 28, 2016

Share This Article

Change Size

Indonesians not interested in going to Rio Games

I

ndonesians seem disinterested when it comes to flying to Rio de Janeiro to witness and support Indonesian Olympians competing in the 2016 Rio Summer Games, which begin on Aug. 5.

The lack of prestige of the Indonesian athletes is at the top of the list as to why Indonesians are refusing to spend money on a trip to Copacabana.

“We’re not that prestigious in sports. We’re not participating in a lot of events and we’re not even participating in any of the nationally popular sports, except badminton,” H. Asnawi Bahar, head of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA), told The Jakarta Post recently.

For the 2016 summer games, Indonesia will send 28 athletes to compete in archery, badminton, cycling (BMX), rowing, swimming, track and field and weightlifting.

Badminton is the backbone of the squad, targeting two gold medals. Meanwhile, weightlifting also sees a future in nailing medals.

Indonesia, which finished at 63rd, did not win any gold medal in London Games in 2012.

According to ASITA’s observation, Indonesians often only go to sporting events when there is a win to celebrate. This lack of interest in the Olympics is marked by the association’s absence of hard data on tourism to Brazil and by the limited number of travel packages to the Rio Olympics.

Anta Vaya is among the few travel agents that offers a trip to Brazil as part of a larger Latin America tour package. It, however, does not offer any specific Olympic-related travel package.

Others, such as Panorama, do not even offer any tours to Brazil and other parts of South America.

Bahar compared the current less-excited situation with the 2012 London and 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

“If we look at previous Olympics, the trend with our people is that it depends on the place where it’s held,” he said.

“Indonesians do not tend to go to single-destination vacations, so it really depends on the tourist value of the place.

“London, which is in Europe, allowed tourists to visit other hotspot countries,” explained Bahar, adding that Brazil was quite far from Indonesia and other hotspot countries that were appealing to Indonesians.

Bahar also thinks there is an issue with timing.

With both Idul Fitri and the school holidays over, both children and their parents are returning to their daily routines. This prevents families who usually go to such events from attending.

Other reasons are mainly because of Brazil-related issues.

Windy Widiati, the tourism and cultural affairs coordinator of the Brazilian Embassy in Jakarta, said reports of outbreaks in mosquito diseases, especially the Zika virus, also encouraged would-be tourists to stay home in Indonesia to watch the Rio Olympics from the safety of their screens.

The fact that several athletes have chosen to withdraw from the games only served to strengthen such concerns.

“While there are still some, there aren’t as many Indonesians going to Brazil for the Olympics compared to previous years — even compared to the World Cup two years ago.

“This is because conditions right now have Brazil facing a lot of problems — the Zika virus, athletes withdrawing, political instability and global crises in safety as well as the economy. “
__________________________________

The writer is an intern at
The Jakarta Post

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.