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Oz eyes up to A$4b from Indonesian tourists by 2020
Australia expects to reap up to A$4 billion (US$3
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ustralia expects to reap up to A$4 billion (US$3.12 billion) from Indonesian visitors by 2020 as it attempts to capitalize on its fast-surging tourism sector.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 2018 Australia Tourism Exchange on Monday, Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said that Indonesia, along with India, was its “rising star-market” and could match its top markets such as the United States and United Kingdom in the long term because of its scale.
“Toward 2020, we think Indonesia can end up in the range between A$2 billion and A$4 billion [...] It’s about doing things a bit differently,” he said, citing a travel fair held by Tourism Australia in Jakarta recently.
Teaming up with Indonesia’s largest private lender Bank Central Asia (BCA), Australia’s national tourism body held in early March a four-day travel fair, which, O’Sullivan claimed, achieved sales amounting to A$1 million.
O’Sullivan also said a surge in the number of Indonesian tourists was also expected from a number of events to be hosted by Australia in the future.
Australia aims to welcome 10 million international visitors and reap A$130 billion in visitor spending by 2020.
This year alone, it seeks to see around 9 million visitor arrivals with an expenditure of about A$42 billion to A$43 billion.
The country welcomed a record 8.8 million international visitors last year, up 7 percent from 2016, according to data from Tourism Australia. They contributed A$41.3 billion to its economy in 2017, also an all-time high figure, 6 percent higher than a year earlier.
The highest number of inbound tourists came from China last year, totaling 1.36 million, followed by those from the United States and the United Kingdom, which respectively reached 781,000 and 731,900.
Australia saw arrivals of 193,600 visitors from Indonesia in 2017, up 7 percent from 2016, making the latter the 12th largest inbound market by visitor arrivals. Meanwhile, their spending amounted to A$700 million, down 5 percent year-on-year (yoy), ranking 15th in overall visitor expenditure.
Tourism Australia’s regional general manager for South and Southeast Asia, Brent Anderson, said that as a new market for Australia, Indonesia still fell below the target for meeting the 2020 goal. However, it had strong potential to catch up with other markets in the long run.
“It’s a new market for us with nearly 200,000 visitors. It’s among the smallest markets, but by 2030, it could be in the top-five markets,” he said.
To lure Indonesian visitors, the body would consider organizing another travel fair this year, Anderson said, adding that the achievement of the past event exceeded its expectations as sales were double the target.
In addition to that, Tourism Australia also expects several airlines operating in Australia and Indonesia to either increase flight frequencies or open new routes, he said.
Late last year, the body extended its partnership with Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to promote the latter’s flights to destinations in Australia, such as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
