West Sumatra: cooking the right recipe to attract foreign travellers…

PADANG- Tourism in Padang and other cities of West Sumatra such as the famed mountain resort town of Bukittinggi are bustling with travellers. A good indicator are all the hotels which recently opened or will soon be built in West Sumatra capital city. “We have more hotel rooms today than prior to 2009, the year we had this terrible earthquake,” highlighted proudly West Sumatra Governor, Irwan Prayitno during the opening ceremony of TIME travel show. From less than 3,000 rooms prior to 2009, the available total hotel capacity in the province now approaches 6,000 rooms. In Padang alone, the number of available rooms more than doubled from 1,500 to 3,800.

While the Head of West Sumatra Provincial government Culture and Tourism Office H. Burhasman points out that the number of flights at Padang Minangkabau International Airport has grown by 36% between 2009 and 2013.

"West Sumatra has everything travellers can dream of: beaches, one of the world’s top surfing destinations in Mentawai Islands, the beautiful unique culture of local Minangkabau ethnics, canyons, large lakes, lush landscapes of rice terraces. It is even home to one of Indonesia’s signature dish, the Rendang, named one of the top world dishes by CNN”, told during the opening ceremony Indonesia Vice Minister for Tourism Sapta Nirwandar.
 
Except that foreign tourists have still trouble to acknowledge all West Sumatra assets. According to the Chief of West Sumatra tourism H. Burhasman, the province received last year 5.78 million domestic tourists. By comparison, the total number of recorded foreign travellers was only a paltry 36,950…. “Official statistics record however only international direct arrivals at ports or airports. International visitors coming through another gateway are then considered as domestic travellers. This figure is certainly under-evaluated”, estimated Maulana Yusran, Head of the Indonesian Hotel & Restaurant Association for West Sumatra.

Even if total arrivals would be doubled, the ratio between foreign and domestic travellers would stand at 1 for over 85! What could be the reasons for the low turn of international visitors? International flights accessibility is a first explanation, Padang being only connected to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia. “We try to secure again a direct flight to Singapore but this is true that previous attempts from both Garuda Indonesia and Tigerair were not successful due to the lack of passengers”, acknowledges H. Burhasman.

There is an obvious problem of communication and marketing strategy. “West Sumatra still needs to gain more visibility abroad. The hosting of TIME is going the right way to showcase the province to the international travel trade. And large events such as the Tour of Singkarak – an important bicycle race- or the dragon boats competition in Padang are contributing to provide more exposure to the destination. But I think that the authorities still need to improve their marketing skills”, explained Ian Hanafiah, Chairman of the West Sumatra chapter of the Association of Indonesians Tour and Travel Agencies, ASITA.

What West Sumatra lacks is certainly to highlight itself in a different way. For example by playing more on the niche market effect: culinary experiences by learning to cook the famous Padang food would be a great way to promote the destination; or highlighting the peculiar customs of the Minangkabau people, who form the world’s largest matrilineal Muslim society; or creating trails which would highlight architectural circuits through some of West Sumatra most stunning Minang villages. Community tourism is another important segment that the province should cultivate. Especially as people are particularly welcoming and friendly.

More infrastructures are also necessary to turn the province more attractive, especially for Asian travellers. Good standard shopping facilities–a compulsory element of any Asian traveller’s vacation- or the cleanliness of tourist areas could only help building up the good reputation of West Sumatra tourism.

International tourism will continue to grow as more hotels and a convention centre are due to open next year in Padang. Authorities believe that international visitors could generate this year over 40,000 arrivals and 50,000 in the near future. The last TIME travel exhibition probably brought its contribution to that result.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews