The House Admits Performance of Ministry of Tourism Less Optimal

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta- Performance of the Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) RI under the leadership of Arief Yahya is considered less than optimal.

Chairman of Commission X of the House of Representatives Djoko Udjianto asserted less optimal performance Kemenpar clearly visible from the target of foreign tourists visiting (tourists) to Indonesia in 2017 that is not achieved.

The condition was judged to have reached a fairly alarming level aka 'yellow light'. Where the target of 15 million foreign tourists are projected, reaching only 14 million people.

"We are concerned over this development as the government is struggling to find funds for infrastructure development, the government has the potential to lose a considerable amount of revenue," he said in a press statement received by media crew on Saturday (30/12/2017).

He regretted that this apprehensive condition actually happened to the industry that actually has been established by the government as the leading sector. As a result, efforts to fill the coffers of government coffers, which in recent years has always been overwhelming even more severe ketor.

"Whereas in the past, tourism has always presented a beautiful story. In 2015-2016 the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of tourism grew 4.8 percent with an upward trend of 6.9 percent, much higher than the agriculture, automotive and mining industries Tourism is ranked fourth of national foreign exchange contributors, which is 9.3 percent compared to other industries, "he regrets.

In fact, according to him, in the last few years, the average growth of foreign exchange earned tourism occupies the highest position, which is 13 percent higher than the negative growth of oil, coal, and palm oil.

"Tourism contributes 9.8 million jobs, or 8.4 percent nationally and ranks 4th from all industry sectors In terms of job creation, the tourism sector grew by 30 percent within 5 years, stories are not good, "he added.

Furthermore, said the Democratic Party politician, behind the rapid growth of tourism, actually Commission X House of Representatives has long smelled a number of problems. It was as the conclusion of Working Committee (Panja) Marketing and Tourism Destination Commission X House in 2016 ago. The conclusion that among them is the budget promotion Kemenpar over Rp 1 trillion doubt its effectiveness. The reason, in the past, with a doubling of budget increases, tourist visits only added several million.

He continued, Panja also saw the implementation of marketing strategy, promotion, media, and promotion time run by Kemenpar still need further study in terms of rationality, effectiveness, and proportionality, as well as the required measuring tool of its success.

"Branding activities such as 'Pesona Indonesia' and 'Wonderful Indonesia' have succeeded in increasing the awareness of tourists, but the number of foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia is still not comparable with major competitor countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

In line with that, he added, Kemenpar should be more intense to invite the participation of stakeholders of tourism industry to market Indonesian tourism products with preparation and careful planning.

"The partnership between the government and the private sector should be sustainable," he said.

Known, the data Survey of the behavior of foreign tourists states that the average expenditure of foreign tourists Rp 1.76 million per day. The length of their stay in Indonesia is 7.66 days. The Reason from  Arief Yahya, the target of less than 1 million foreign tourists was caused by foreign travelers abandoned to visit Bali due to Mount Agung erupted some time ago.

"Of the one million people who fail to visit, the government lost the potential revenue of about Rp 13.4 trillion or equivalent to 3.5 times the budget ceiling of the Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) in 2017," he explained.

He emphasized that the DPR is also worried if the promotion of tourism is not balanced with the development of tourism destinations, it can make tourists disappointed, and kapok to return to Indonesia. Because the tourism infrastructure of Indonesia has not been 100 percent ready. Therefore, Panja Commission X of the House of Representatives recommends that the Ministry of Religious Affairs better improve coordination and synchronization with ministries, government agencies, local government and other stakeholders.

Coordination and synchronization is also supposed to be also done in the strategic field. Among others are the areas of customs, immigration, quarantine, security and order services, to the field of public infrastructure covering roads, clean water, electricity, fuel / diesel (fuel), telecommunications, and environmental health.

"Some Commission of House of Representatives (DPR) has urged Kemenpar to implement the recommendation of the Working Committee, while Kemenpar continues its own way with the programs it has prepared, regardless of the recommendation of Panja With the decreasing number of tourists big enough at the end of 2017, may Kemenpar more open to receive input, both from legislative institutions and other stakeholders, so that our tourism industry back to reach the target that has been determined, "he concluded.