"Alvin Toffler has already predicted, at the end of wave III it will be the era of Recreation Industry (Hospitality, Recreation, Entertainment). In the future the tourism industry, which is supported by creative industry that already has the commercial values, will become the leading sector," said Arief Yahya, in a written statement in Jakarta.
The minister said he had read the book of The Third Wave written by Alvin Toffler, who says the Waves of Human Civilization are divided into three. The Wave I is the Agriculture Era between 800 BC to 1500 AD, the era of agriculture, plantation and agricultural technologies. The Wave II is Manufacture Era (1500-1970), industrial society, the generation of the factories, the birth of imperialism and colonialism. The Wave III is Information Technology Era (1970-2000).
The minister told about President Joko Widodo's worries after attending the series of Summits of G20 and ASEAN in China and Laos back then. The president held a meeting on 9 September 2016 with his ministers to discuss the results of his working visits. President Jokowi wanted Indonesia to soon find the core economy or the core business for the country.
What is the strongest advantage of Indonesia, compared with other countries in the world? What industry can compete and win the battle in today's global era? What industry should be supported by all parties and will be the mainstay of Indonesia in the future? By having the core business, the concentration of the president won't be too wide and able to be more focus in pushing the public economy.
The data show that Indonesia foreign exchange revenues from oil and natural gas tend to fall drastically. In 2013, it generated US$ 32.6 billion. In 2014 it fell to US$ 30.3 billion. And in 2015 it fell more drastically to US$ 18.9 billion. The world oil prices plunged from US$ 100 per barrel to US$ 60, down further to US$ 50, and the last price was at US$ 36. "So it was predictable, the cause is the falling selling prices, and the target to lift it was difficult to achieve," said Arief Yahya.
"Only revenues from tourism sector rose, from US$ 10 billion in 2013to US$ 11 billion in 2014, and increased further to US$ 12.6 billion in 2015. It is potentially to keep rising, because this is a sustainable industry," said the minister.
"As a significant contributor to GDP, foreign exchange revenues and employment, tourism is the easiest and inexpensive sector to develop. Regarding GDP, tourism contributes 10% of national GDP, with the highest revenue generation come from ASEAN. The GDP of national tourism grew 4.8% with the uptrend to 6.9%, far higher than the agriculture industry, automotive manufacturing and mining. The tourism foreign exchange is at US$ 1 Million, generating GDP at US$ 1.7 million or 170%, the highest compared to other industries," he said.
Regarding the foreign exchange, tourism is number 4 in the national foreign exchange earners, 9.3% compared to other industries. The growth of foreign exchange revenues is also highest at 13%, compared to the industry of oil and natural gas, coal, and palm oil whose growths are negative. "The cost for marketing is only requiring 2% of the projected foreign exchange revenues," said Arief Yahya.
Regarding the employment, tourism accounts for 9.8 million jobs or 8.4% nationally and ranks fourth in all industry sectors. In job creation the tourism sector grew by 30% within 5 years. Tourism is also the lowest price in job creation, costing only US$ 5.000/one job, compared to the industry average of more than US$ 100,000/one job.
In 2015, compared to Singapore and Malaysia, the two closest countries, the growth of tourism in Indonesia rose higher. Malaysia dropped by 15.7 percent. Singapore rose 0.9%, assuming 1 percent. Indonesia is very confident with 10.3% increase, to 10.4 million foreign tourists. "It shows that our performance is not too bad, the growth and the industrial atmosphere are very passionate, very aggressive and continue to grow," he said.
Source: Tourism Ministry: Tourism Future Industry
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