Indonesia is a part of South East Asia. It is located North-West of Australia and South of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines. It has a total of 13,677 islands with 6,000 being uninhabited. From the western most point of Aceh province, to the eastern most point of West Papua, the archipelago stretches 5,000 km.

Geography

There are five main Islands that make up Indonesia, two of which are Sumatra, which is the largest, and Java, which is the most populated. The others include Borneo (shared with Malaysia and Brunei), Sulawesi (previously Celebes) and Papua (previously Irian Jaya, shared with P.N.G.)

The entire land mass of the country is a little larger than Queensland, with most of that being mountainous. This terrain holds many active and dormant volcanoes, the most recent eruption of which is of Gunung Merapi in Central Java. The entire country was originally covered in thick rainforests, most of which have been cleared for reasons such as agriculture, housing settlements and paper, which is primarily sold to the Japanese for computer paper usage. This has left the forests to now cover only parts of Sumatra, Sulawesi, and most of Kalimantan and Papua.

Population

The official total population of Indonesia is between 210-220 million people.
*  half the population live on Java Island
* 28 million people living in greater Jakarta and 
* 11 million of those in inner Jakarta. 

Other greatly populated areas include North and South Sumatra, and South Sulawesi. The widely unpopulated areas include the heavy mountainous regions of West Papua, Central Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi.

Religion

Of this huge population of people, about 85% follow Islam, making it the official largest Muslim country in the world. Other religions include Hindu Bali,  found mainly on Bali, Christianity, found in many pockets around the country, Buddhism, found mainly in Chinese Indonesian communities, animism and other religions under the new government. 

As much of the population is Muslim, the five pillars of Islam are very relevant to daily life in Indonesia. These include: 
* Shahada, which is the declaration of faith or belief in One God;
* Salat, which is five daily prayers; 
* Zakat, which is poor due or charity to the needy; 
* Ramadhan, which is the Holy month of fasting from dawn to dusk, and 
* Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Makkah if one is financially able to do so. 

Qualities within these five pillars are also evident in Indonesia’s Pancasila, or five principles upon which the country’s constitution was based following the Independence from the Dutch in 1945.

Pancasila

The Pancasila consists of:
* Belief in One Supreme God
* Justice and civility among peoples
* Unity of Indonesia
* Democracy through deliberations and consensus among representatives
* Social justice for all

This creed had been adopted by many Indonesians for decades, however these five principles have not been honoured in recent years.

Government – The Presidents

Indonesia as one country is very young, about 56 years old, in which there have been 4 Presidents:

* First – President Sukarno 1945-1966
* Second – President Suharto 1966-1998
* Third – President Habibie 1998-1999
* Fourth and current President Abdurrahman Wahid 1999-…
* Current Vice President and predicted next President, Megawati Sukarnoputri

As the government and politics have changed over time, tourism has been affected and has reacted to these changes.

Tourism in Indonesia

The Minister for Culture and Tourism announced the target for tourism numbers for 2001 at 5.4 million foreign visitors. This target was positioned 5% higher than the target aimed at for year 2000, which was 5.1million. Unfortunately, the real figure for 2000 came in 1 million visitors short of the target, but the Minister is still optimistic that 2001’s target can still be achieved.

Indonesia’s tourism marketing and promotion is currently focused on successful traditional markets such as:
*Japan
*Taiwan
*Germany
*U.S.
*Netherlands
and expanded markets such as:
* China
* Middle-East
* South Africa and 
* Eastern Europe.

The 10 key destinations within Indonesian which were popularly visited by tourists in 2000 were: (from West to East)
* North Sumatra
* West Sumatra
* Jakarta
* West Java
* Central Java
* Yogyakarta
* East Java
* Bali
* North Sulawesi
* South Sulawesi

The total number of visitors in this year reached 4.15 million, which was a 6% increase from the previous year. The main exports growth experienced were with Indonesia’s Foreign Trade partners, such as:
* Korea
*  Japan 
* China 
* N.Z. and 
* U.K. 

The top 5 countries of origin, which have the greatest visitor numbers to Indonesia, are
* Singapore
* Japan
* Australia
* Malaysia and 
* Taiwan.

Figure 1. Number of Foreign Visitors to Indonesia  - 1995 - 1999

Singapore’s numbers are about double that of the second country, Japan. This could be largely due to a high percentage of frequent business travel between Singapore and Indonesia. This could also be due to Riau Province, holding Bintan and Batam Islands, which are an hour’s ferry ride from Singapore harbour, where many Singaporean owned hotels are situated. There are beautiful beaches and much cheaper shopping available there. These Singapore numbers do not appear to have been greatly affected by the economic crisis, unlike that of Japan which dropped in 1998, but it is gradually climbing again. 

Similarly, Australia dropped severely in 1998 along with Taiwan. Malaysia, however, remained relatively steady throughout the period.

The remaining top countries visiting Indonesia are Korea, Germany, USA, UK and the Netherlands. There has been negative growth rate from both Singapore, and Malaysia, while the rest however small, are increasing in numbers. 

The average length of stay followed a trend of short verses long haul travel. The closer they are, the least time they spend, and vice versa. All European visitors spent between 12-20 days, whereas the Asian countries spent about 1 week.

Table 1. Top 10 Foreign Countries Visiting Indonesia

Country of Origin	# Foreign Visitors ‘99	%  Increase from 98	Ave. Length of Stay
1. Singapore	1,332,877	-10	4.49 days
2. Japan	606,102	29	7.46 days
3. Australia	531,211	34	11.81 days
4. Malaysia	440,212	-10	6.55 days
5. Taiwan	349,247	23	7.12 days
6. Korea	220,440	23	7.38 days
7. Germany	169,083	19	14.48 days
8. U.S.A.	151,763	1	12.97 days
9. U.K.	138,296	0.5	11.92 days
10. Netherlands	86,022	5	19.36 days

The room occupancy rates throughout the country in 1999 were highest in:
* Central Kalimantan             69.31 %
* Bali                                    58.19
* Jambi (Sumatra)                 54.20
* South Kalimantan               52.76
* East Kalimantan                  49.80
* Lampung                            47.73
* West Kalimantan                44.91
* Riau (Sumatra)                   44.56
* East Nusa Tenggara           43.74
* Jakarta                               40.91

These are not all the top ten destinations, but they seem to have greater success in their tourism industries. These figures are most likely due more to domestic tourism or travel for business purposes by land from Malaysia and Brunei and medical and rainforest research activities, and the fact that there is very little focus on religion, rather than recreational purposes. Generally, compared to Australia, these figures are very low. 

Tourism Product

The tradition tourism product of Indonesia is very much beach tourism. The focus of this promotion is the island of Bali. “Sun, sea and sand” has attracted much of the past tourism to Indonesia, but there is a greater potential for more exciting and diverse forms of product for the archipelago.

This country is rich will thousands of ethnic cultures, languages and lands. The attractions are countless. Some of the huge contrasting experiences you can enjoy include:
* Rainforest
* 5* hotels
* Village life
* Traditional v modern culture
* Architecture
* Agriculture
* Religious monuments and festivals of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and animism.
* Diving, sailing, surfing, river trips
* Flora and fauna
* Wildlife – orang hutans, tigers and monkeys

Government and Tourism

Tourism, as an industry, has not always been encouraged or supported in Indonesia. Prior to 1980, the Government only saw tourism as a way to increase foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities. It felt no urgency to develop industry with disinterest displayed by the tight regulations it held in regards to visas, aircraft landing rights, and investments in tourism facilities. The government wanted quick and easy dollars, so it’s primary target was high-income tourists, which led to a horrible neglect of the rapidly growing important markets and domestic tourism. 

This all changed in the 1980’s when the growth of tourism increased dramatically and the government underwent certain changes relating to its involvement in the tourism industry. It introduced visa free entry and expanded domestic airline services. This unfortunately, made outbound tourism for Indonesian citizens, very expensive and a fiscal exit tax was introduced to make it almost impossible for the average Indonesian to travel overseas. It was often said that the local people did not economically benefit from the tourism in their area. 

Tourism Prior to Crisis

Between 1980 and 1994, tourism was a major source of export growth. The industry was growing and numbers were increasing by 30% for several years prior to the crisis. Tourism was:
* 10.6% of total exports
* had reached 4 million arrivals of which 
-72% was holiday travel
-25% was business travel and 
-0.5% was convention travel.
* 70% of these visitor arrivals were intra-regional, arriving by
- Air 63%
- Sea 34%
- Land 0.9% (Malaysia to Indo on Borneo) 

Jakarta and Bali airports accounted for over half of all arrivals

Asian Economic Crisis

This all changed as the Asian Economic Crisis hit its hardest from July 1997. It resulted in:
* Unemployment of millions of people
* Multiple corporate failures
* Pressure on share prices
* Steadily weakening currency – Rupiah
* Declining foreign investment
* High inflation
*  High food prices resulting in millions of deaths by starvation

This ultimately resulted, among other reasons,  in the demise of the 32 year old “New Order” regime of former President Suharto.

The current exchange rate for the Rupiah against the AUD is around 4500, which is more than one-quarter the value it was before the crisis. (as of 23/03/01)

The crisis in Indonesia has since been revealed to have been greatly escalated and controlled by the Clinton administration and the International Monetary Fund who blocked any programs to aid Indonesia’s currency problems, as they:

“Sought to create currency chaos to get rid of then President Suharto.” (2000)

The country has never recovered.

Transportation

Indonesia has many colourful, interesting and exciting forms of transportation. Local and standard forms of transportation can be used by both visitors and residents, depending on the purpose and affordability.

Local and standard transportation consists of:
*  Becak 
* Bemo (mini bus)
* Bajaj (Java only)
* Motorcycles
* Bicycle
* Bus/Coach
* Ferry
* Taxis 
* Rail 
* Air
* Sea

The road rules in Indonesia are somewhat different to what might be found in Australia. According to Lonely Planet, there aren’t any rules, but this is not the case at all. It may look as though they are crazy for driving toward oncoming traffic, but there is an understanding that exists between the drivers that enables Indonesian roads to remain almost fatality free. 

Tourists, however can sometimes become bemused by this style of driving and the constant beeping of horns, so it is often suggested that upon your first few visits to the country, that you do not drive.

Across the country, there is a very clear majority of motorcycles on the roads. This is much more the case on Java island than the outer provinces. This may be due to that fact that motorcycles are much more affordable than a car. Bikes are 70% while 16% are passenger cars. Trucks are 9% and buses are 4%, which I assume would include the bemos. These figures do not include the local transportation such as the becaks and bajajs. 

Issues Effecting Tourism

There are many issues which clearly upset the industry in Indonesia. The two main issues are the political instability of the country and it’s natural hazards.

Political Instability

The political instability of Indonesia has reached such a point that it is hard to state that the Presidents following former President Suharto, have had any control over the country. This general unrest does not effect all parts of Indonesia or all the Indonesians, but it certainly affects Indonesia’s international image.

This instability has lead to unrest among the people, which had lead to brutal religious conflict where literally thousands and thousands have died in 2 years. The political situation of Indonesia is watch carefully by outside countries, many of whom have manipulated the situation to suit their needs and benefits. The people of Indonesia have become innocent targets of a situation they cannot control. This has lead to re-emerging age-old separatist movements which have been brutally quelled by the armed forces. Recent action of the TNI (military) in the province of Aceh has been questioned as to it legality due to the outright brutal killings occurring there. This province was never legally part of the Dutch East Indies, and was illegally handed over to Indonesia in 1945. The Acehnese people have been fighting for their freedom for more than 100 years. Refer to a brief history into the struggle of the Acehnese.

This uncertainty dramatically decreases the faith of international countries, in Indonesia as a tourist destination. This is also accentuated by reports of loss of freedom by travellers, where they are no longer permitted to enter certain regions and certainly not allowed to take any form of camera or film into those areas. An example of this is a Swiss journalist, who was holidaying in West Papua last year (2000), was witness to a major separatist display of burning shops and the raising of the Papuan flag. He took photos and returned to his hotel. He is now serving a 5 year prison term with no chance of return before then.

Natural Hazards

Other issues effecting tourism include the many natural hazards which exists in Indonesia. The most recent event in the minds of the people is that of Gunung Merapi, or Fire Mountain, erupting continuously this year. It is situated in Central Java, north of Yogyakarta. The local people have been suffering from respiratory problems there for a long time now. The fear of it erupting further remains a major concern for visitors. Another small eruption occurred at Mount Lokon in the North Sulawesi district on Monday 26^th March, 2001.

There was also a large spate of flooding across the archipelago last year, which caused devastating landslides and the death of 100’s of people in nearly all the main provinces.

Drought has also been a problem, with the sweltering heat of Java island and Eastern Indonesia, causing large scale crop failure last year, leading to many deaths by starvation. Fires have also destroyed much of the country's forests and added to respiratory problems.

Earthquakes are not such a problem in Indonesia, however there was an earthquake late last year in North Sulawesi, one in March, 2001 in Ambon, Maluku province and one in March, 2001, in the south-west of Sumatra.

Conclusion

Indonesia has so many beautiful attractions, accompanied by risk and adventure. It is a country that will take years to recover, but insh'Allah solutions will be found to these problems, while the magnificent land upon which these problems lie, still awaits to be explored by more visitors.