THE ROLE OF SALES MISSIONS: MORE THAN JUST TARGETS AND PROMOTION

Tourism for Us – Tourism industry players in various destinations across Indonesia face difficulties when the government implements budget efficiency and encourages industry players to seek alternative solutions. With resilience that has been tested in facing various pressures and challenges, the West Java Regional Board of ASITA began utilizing the sales mission in Penang, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, conducted at the end of July, as a means to introduce inbound market marketing strategies, particularly for tourism industry players in West Java. The sales mission activities not only focus on direct promotion and achieving tourism package sales targets but also aim to inspire tourism industry players, especially in Bandung, who have been prioritizing domestic and government markets. With positive responses from buyers in all three cities, it is hoped they will begin exploring opportunities in the inbound market, starting from the ASEAN region.

This sales mission began in Penang on July 29, 2025, at Hotel Cititel Penang. Here, 28 sellers from Indonesia met with 60 tour operators/travel agents (TO/TA) from Penang City. The mission continued on July 30, 2025, at Hotel Weil Ipoh, Perak, bringing together 28 sellers with 24 buyers. The final sales mission on July 31, 2025, at Hotel Berjaya Time Square Kuala Lumpur brought together 26 sellers with 40 buyers.

(Photo: West Java Regional Board of ASITA)

The TO/TA seller participants came from Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Bali. In this sales mission, the number of TO/TA participants from Bandung increased, with seven participants taking part. Among them, five companies—Megatama, Nuansa Holidays, Universal Holiday, Marvelous, and Exodus Tour—were marketing their products abroad for the first time. Meanwhile, the other two participants, Exotic Java Trails and Bhara Tours, are tour operators from Bandung with decades of experience in bringing foreign tourists to Indonesia.

Other seller participants consisted of hotel and restaurant industry players. Like the TO/TA participants who were selling products abroad for the first time, several participants from the hotel and restaurant sector were also participating in overseas sales missions for the first time. Generally, they had previously focused more on domestic markets and the government sector.

Sellers reported that responses from buyers in the three Malaysian cities were very positive. Particularly, buyers from Penang and Ipoh showed high enthusiasm, considering many of them were not yet familiar with Bandung as a destination.

Herman Rukmanadi from Bhara Tours revealed that the most enthusiastic buyers were from Penang and Ipoh because many of them were not yet aware of Bandung as a destination. They were even more pleased because this destination can be accessed through Jakarta.

"The travel pattern hasn't changed at all," said Herman.

Tourists from Penang and Ipoh are similar to Malaysian tourists in general. Their travel duration in Bandung is 4 days 3 nights or 5 days 4 nights. For the 4-day 3-night travel package, they will go directly to Bandung after arriving in Jakarta. For the 5-day 4-night travel package, they will stay one more night in Jakarta.

"During that time, they only tour in Bandung. The attractions remain the same: Pasar Baru, culinary experiences, and shopping," said Herman.

Edwin I. Himna from Trend Tours & Travel, an inbound tour operator based in Yogyakarta, expressed similar sentiments. The responses from buyers in the three target cities of this sales mission were quite good. They were already familiar with Yogyakarta as a destination.

However, airfare prices to Yogyakarta and lack of destination promotion pose challenges in competing with Jakarta, Bangkok, and Vietnam.

Currently, only AirAsia operates direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Yogyakarta twice daily with round-trip ticket prices exceeding RM 1,000. Meanwhile, round-trip ticket prices from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta can be less than RM 1,000, and round-trip ticket prices to Vietnam from Malaysia's capital are only around RM 700-800.

"Tourists from Penang and Ipoh must go to Kuala Lumpur first. For example, when people from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, and Penang are faced with choices between Jogja or other destinations like Jakarta, Vietnam, or Bangkok, Jogja will definitely lose. They mostly complain about the high airfare prices from Kuala Lumpur to Jogja. So we're already defeated by ticket prices," explained Edwin.

Regarding destinations, Edwin revealed that new tourist attractions, especially man-made ones, are emerging in Yogyakarta. However, due to lack of promotion, Yogyakarta eventually falls behind Vietnam and Bangkok.

"Tourists from Malaysia to Yogyakarta don't just come to see temples. Nevertheless, we in Yogyakarta remain optimistic that in the coming months before the end of the year, foreign tourist visits, especially from Malaysia, will continue to increase," he added.

Wisnu Arimbawa from GD Tour, a tour operator from Bali, is optimistic about tapping into the potential market from Penang.

"Penang is very prospective, especially for the luxury market. Because many expatriates live there and it's considered a prosperous city in Malaysia. Besides, this market also has good ability to travel. They depart from Penang not just to Bali, but also to Labuan Bajo, Sumba, even to Raja Ampat and East Timor," said Wisnu.

Meanwhile, Ipoh, being a small city, doesn't have as much market potential as Penang. Most guests from this city are ethnic Chinese and often request Mandarin-speaking guides. They only visit Bali.

He also revealed that currently, direct flights from Malaysia to Bali are only available from Kuala Lumpur, with 13 flights daily served by several international and national airlines. Other direct flights from Kota Kinabalu have stopped operating since June 2025. The duration of tourism packages to Bali preferred by Malaysian tourists in general hasn't changed either, remaining at 4 days 3 nights.

Chairman of West Java Regional Board of ASITA, Daniel G. Nugraha, said that this sales mission activity in three Malaysian cities also serves as a benchmarking showcase of Malaysian tourism that can be emulated by West Java tourism stakeholders specifically, and Indonesia in general. Each city has its own strengths: Penang is known as a health tourism center; Ipoh as a culinary tourism city; and Kuala Lumpur as a center for business networks and international travel agents. Additionally, all three cities have good accessibility that can facilitate tourists traveling to Indonesia, particularly to West Java destinations.

Deputy for Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar), Ni Made Ayu Marthini, in her statement in Jakarta on Thursday (July 31, 2025), explained that this business matching (sales mission) serves as a strategic platform to connect Indonesian tourism business players with travel agents, tour operators, and local industry partners.

"The selection of these three cities is not without reason. Kuala Lumpur is the center of Malaysia's largest travel and outbound tourism industry, while Penang and Ipoh have very promising market growth potential. All three represent major areas in West Malaysia that can open opportunities for broader tourism promotion cooperation," said Ni Made Ayu Marthini.

"This is important because it becomes one of the requirements for participating in tourism exhibitions in Malaysia, which is having local partners registered as members of the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA)," said Ni Made Ayu Marthini.

The sales mission in these three Malaysian cities was initiated and organized by the West Java Regional Board of ASITA and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and the Culture & Tourism Office of Bandung City. Previously, West Java ASITA had conducted the same mission in Kota Kinabalu and will conduct sales missions again in other cities.

New Initiative: Integrating Inbound Tour Planner Training and Overseas Tourism Promotion Activities

The West Java Regional Board of ASITA has conducted two Inbound Tour Planner training sessions, attended by 40 and 30 participants respectively. Then, 42 people have obtained BNSP Tour Operations Certification.

"Alumni from this Inbound Tour Planner training will be invited to participate in Sales Missions in three other Malaysian cities planned for September. Later, they will also be present again at MATTA Fair," explained Daniel.

He hopes that with such stimulus, foreign tourist visits to West Java can be increased and new economic sources from the tourism sector can be developed. Of course, this program must be implemented in collaboration with various parties, especially with the Culture & Tourism Office of Bandung City, the Tourism & Culture Office of West Java Province, and the Ministry of Tourism.

The West Java Regional Board of ASITA conveyed that the recently concluded sales mission in Penang, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur did not deploy new travel agents but created new markets. The five tour operators/travel agents from Bandung who participated in the sales mission were indeed "new faces" who were interested in expanding to overseas markets for the first time.

"We create by training their tour planners to focus on handling inbound, in addition to their existing captive market in Outbound, Domestic, and Government group segments," said Daniel.

"Hotels are the same. Those who are usually government and domestic market oriented, we provide input to work on the ASEAN inbound market. Finally, they participate in the sales missions we organize. Because marketing costs are relatively the same and the distance is close. Inbound is a new alternative market for them," he concluded.

Once again, this industry has shown its resilience in facing various existing pressures and challenges. (Yun Damayanti)