KUPANG - Angkasa Pura Airports held a talk show with a theme of “Explore the Amazing Destination at East Nusa Tenggara” at Aston Hotel & Convention Center, Kupang, on 11 December 2018, in order to promote and develop East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) tourism sector.
The event, moderated by Andi F Noya, was attended by Director of Marketing and Services of Angkasa Pura Airports, Devy Suradji; NTT Governor, Viktor Laiskodat; Deputy of Tourism Industry & Development, Dadang Rizki Ratman; Banyuwangi Regent, Abdullah Azwar Anas; Travel Blogger, Marischka Prudence; CEO - Strategic Development of Tokopedia, Doni Nathaniel Pramana and CO-Founder of Du'anyam Hanna Keraf.
The event was conducted as a part of Angkasa Pura Airports’ Collaborative Destination Development (CDD), a program aims to promote tourism sector of one area with a collaboration with the local government, airlines, hotels, small medium enterprises (SMEs) and other stakeholders.
The program, which was introduced in 2015, has objectives to develop eco-tourism, introduce tourist-friendly culture, encourage sustainable development and accelerate the development of infrastructure to support the tourism field.
“Kupang is the main gateway of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), both for export-import activities and tourism hub, where air connectivity is served by 13 airports. As of December 2018, there are at least 258 flights per week (outbound) from Kupang with a capacity of 24,255 seats, "said Angkasa Pura Airports president director Faik Fahmi.
NTT is a new tourism destination that emerges following the rising popularity of Komodo Island, Kelimutu Lake in Ende, and other beach destinations.
Kupang is still the most favorite tourism spot with 50 percent of domestic tourists prefer staying in the area.
Meanwhile, foreign tourists prefer West Manggarai, where Labuan Bajo is located (62 percent). They were also recorded to visit Ende (8 percent), Sikka (Maumere) (8 percent), and Kupang (7 percent).
"Komodo Island in Labuan Bajo is still a favorite destination for foreign tourists. Therefore, we hope that this trend can have an indirect impact on Kupang. Kupang has the potential to be optimized as a transit area for tourists from eastern part of Indonesia, Timor Leste or abroad (Australia)", Faik said.
Based on data from the Komodo National Park, the majority of foreign tourists visiting the park from January to August 2018 were Australians (8,100 people) followed by English (7,300 people). There were also Spain citizens (6,900 people), German citizens (6,400 people) and the United States citizens (6,000 people).
"If there are direct flights from Kupang to Australia, Australian tourists can have a shorter flight to Komodo and NTT compared to nowadays, where they have to transit in Bali. Or, Australian tourists can reach NTT through Kupang, then explore NTT with available regional flights and return to their countries from Bali, "Faik said.
Traffic from and to El Tari Kupang Airport has reached 2.1 million passengers per year.
"In general, from 2015 to 2017, passenger traffic at 14 airports in NTT was quite significant with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13 percent. However, if you look at the traffic at some airports like Komodo Airport, Labuan Bajo, with a CAGR of 25 percent, and Ende Airport, Tambolaka Airport, and Alor Airport, with CAGR above 12 percent, it shows that tourist destinations attract tourists to come, "Faik said.
To achieve its visitor arrival target and increase air traffic from and to Kupang through El-Tari Airport, Angkasa Pura Airports provides full incentives in the form of free landing fees to airlines that open new routes for 6 months.
They can also promote their service at the airport for free for 1 month.
Full landing fee incentive is also given to airlines opening new routes at Pattimura International Airport in Ambon and Frans Kaisiepo International Airport in Biak.
"The local government, travel agents, airlines, other related stakeholders and Angkasa Pura Airports, as airport operators, should work together to develop and promote NTT tourism destinations. We are committed to paying special attention to the development of tourism in this area. We hope that our efforts can make positive impact on the growth of creative economy and tourism sector in NTT, "Faik added.
