Influencer fever
Indonesian government wants to keep its tourism destinations buzzing amid virus outbreak. By Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata in Jakarta
The Indonesian government is spending US$5.2 million on trips for foreign social media influencers to create online buzz about the country’s tourist destinations. But the buzz at home has been negative, with critics saying the plan will do little to help a tourism industry threatened by the coronavirus outbreak.
The 72 billion rupiah for influencer junkets is part of a 298.5-billion-rupiah ($21.5 million) package of incentives aimed at foreign tourists. The money will be used to offset discounts on airline tickets and tour packages and other promotional activities, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said after a cabinet meeting last Tuesday.
He said the government would also provide 30% discounts for domestic tourists to fly to 10 destinations, with a quota of 25 cheap seats on each flight.
The destinations are Denpasar on Bali, Batam and Bintan in Riau Islands province, Manado in North Sulawesi, Yogyakarta and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Belitung in the Bangka Belitung Islands, Lombok, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, and Malang in East Java.
“This will be applicable in March, April and May. If it proves beneficial, we may extend the programme,” he said.
Abdul Pulungan, an economist with h i f l te Inst tuteo rD eve opment of Economics and Finance, said the influ- encer initiative seemed particularly ill-suited to current conditions, as the growing spread of the Covid-19 virus is having a huge impact on tourism in many countries.
“What would be more beneficial is good news generated from actual tourism incentives being really implemented on the ground and giving real benefits to tourists, instead of just sweeteners on the surface generated by influencers,” Mr Pulungan told
Asia Focus.
Trips by social media stars, he noted, tend to be facilitated by officials, who provide red-carpet treatment and access to the most Instagrammable spots.
“This is unlike the majority of regular travellers who could stumble upon some hassles in those places,” he said.
The economist said it would be better to offer practical incentives such as cut-rate accommodation, food and beverages in tourist destinations, which tend to be overpriced at the best of times.
Mr Pulungan does not foresee a costly promotional campaign having a significant impact on foreign tourists, given the dramatic slowdown in international travel. Some major airlines have cut back or halted flights to Indonesia as a result of declining passengers and travel restrictions, even though the country has yet to officially report a sickle case of Covid-19.
Indonesia still maintains a ban on flights from China and on travellers from the mainland.
“I don’t think demand for travel will dramatically improve immediately, as it’s also the low season for domestic travel, partly due to extreme weather and heavy rainfall in many parts of the country,” he added.
Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, estimated the tourism industry was losing $500 million a month because of falling visitor numbers.
“The impact [of the coronavirus outbreak] on our economy is significant so we must anticipate,” he said.
Indonesia has been attracting about 2 million Chinese tourists per year but they tend to spend more than other f ore i gn v i s i tors, h e said. Tourism Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio said the promotional campaign was carefullytargeted to help the tourism sector, which creates employment for as many as 13 million Indonesians.
“The 298.5 billion rupiah in incentives are expected to attract 736,000 tourists from countries whose tourists have high average spending per arrival, from whom we expect to generate 13 trillion rupiah revenue,” he said.
Australian tourists, he said, spend an average of $1,800 per trip, while those from the Middle East spend an average of $2,200.
President Joko Widodo has also urged his ministers to come up with other plans to spur the economy and revitalise tourism in major destinations for Chinese tourists, such as Bali, North Sulawesi and the Riau Islands.
Indonesia has not yet reported any confirmed cases of coronavirus. One suspected patient who had been in isolated care at a hospital in Semarang, Central Java, died on Sunday. But officials said the man, who had recently travelled abroad, had tested negative for Covid-19.
Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto told reporters on Thursday that the man had died because he was infected with the H1N1 virus or swine flu.
Some Indonesians abroad have tested positive for the virus, including a domestic worker in Singapore and
n i neout o f 78 In d onesian crew members working on the ill-fated Diamond
Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan.
“What would be more beneficial is good news generated from actual tourism incentives being really implemented on the ground and giving real benefits to tourists”
ABDUL PULUNGAN
Economist