Indonesia vs Thailand : Checking statistics of tourism data. 2009 first time equal number of visitors ?
I was recently reading the interesting post from Solenn, Jak Snaps, comparing the touristic attraction of Indonesia vs. Thailand. I agree with her mainly.
Only one thing got wrong : the used numbers are not correct.
It fueled my interest and I did a little bit of research on statistics of the tourism of Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and on what nationalities are visiting those 3 SEA countries.
Philippines still is the smallest market for tourism of them but growing steadily. 2007 about 3 million people came to the Philippines, 650.000 from South Korea, 550.000 from the USA, 400.000 from Japan.
Indonesia had 5.5 million international tourists and will probably have around 6 million in 2008. More than 2 million were visiting Bali alone in 2008. 500.000 people came from Japan, 400.000 from Australia, 330.000 from South Korea.
Indonesia did a horrible job in marketing themselves as a great vacation destination. In the past 10 years the international visitor numbers remained almost flat.
Thailand’s visitor numbers grew steady year per year and the number doubled within 10 years.
2007 they had 14 million international tourists, double as much as Indonesia. European’s are the largest group of visitors there with over 4 million people.
The numbers for 2008 remain unclear because of the recent political troubles.
It is likely that 2009 the international visitor numbers will drop heavy, maybe by 50% for Thailand because of the more than 1 week airport closure in Bangkok last month.
Indonesia’s visitors might climb to 7 million in 2009, so Thailand and Indonesia might be on pari in terms of tourists for the first time ever. That would be a historical mark for Indonesia in 2009.
However I suppose that the visitor numbers for Thailand will shoot back quickly to old values in 2010 or 2011.
Indonesia should try to take advantage of the current weakness of Thailand to gain sustainable ground for future tourism.
Interesting links for statistical data :
Tourism Authority of Thailand :
http://www2.tat.or.th/stat/web/static_download.php?Rpt=nmt
Tourism Authority of Indonesia :
http://www.budpar.go.id/page.php?ic=621
Here is the article from Solenn :
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2008
How did it all go wrong?
Indonesia can sometimes be very frustrating. Another example recently is the new ad campaign “Visit Indonesia 2008”. Here we are in a 17,000 island archipelago blessed with the most amazing touristic potential anyone could ever dream of. You name it, they have it – save for skiing zones. Paradise beaches? Check: Maluku, white sand, crystal clear water and nothing but you and coconuts. Awesome natural sights? Check: Java volcanoes, full to the brim with mystical legends; the second largest rain forest after Brazil; Lombok rice terrasses. Fascinating local culture? Check: balinese rituals; World heritage Borobudur temples; sexy penis gourd people; crazy Toraja burial ceremonies. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences? Check: hanging out with wild orang-outang, poking Komodo dragons with a stick; sunrise on top of Kelimutu. Friendliest people on earth? Check: just about everywhere (more to come about that).
You’ve got it all. But less than 5 million people come every year to visit, when 30 million of them will be fooled to think Thailand is the place to go. Pfff… Several reasons: so many Westerners think Bali is an independent country, and most are afraid of the crazy Muslims and lack of infrastructures. Wrong on the first two assumption. The second is quite accurate though: the commoner’s idea of a paradise beach usually does not include squat toilets where if you forgot to bring your own toilet paper, you’re screwed.
So, there is a lot of work to do to attract people to the archipelago, and the genius Minister of Tourism decided he had to take the matter in his own hands – of course without wasting time hiring tourism and communication specialists to help him. He came up with a fantastic motto “celebrating 100 years of nation awakening” - yes, with the grammatical mistake now plastered on all Garuda Indonesia flights - and a pretty ridiculous ad campaign. ‘Cause you know, what is most important is to get back at the Malaysians, who last year celebrated their 50th anniversary of independence (in Indonesia, it is just compulsary to HATE Malaysia); so the officials decided they will have a 100th anniversary of some sort, that happened to be the creation of a nationalist party long gone that nobody has ever heard of. And that’s what is supposed to bring the crowds in the country? Sigh.
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