When the authorities announced plans to attract over 400,000 tourists by air in 2026 a few months ago, I couldn’t help but to have reservations regarding their target.
I work for a private company in the tourism industry, and since the pandemic, we have been working around the clock to bring in more visitors, but to say the least, it’s been rather challenging.
According to the February news report, the authorities aim to boost tourism by working with both current and new partners to explore new markets and revise the various products and packages.
I hope it is true because in the past few years, since I joined the industry, it has been quite a struggle to obtain any information regarding future plans.
Last year, we were asked to consider joining tourism expos overseas to boost our products as well as the industry on the whole. While it may be true on paper, the fact that most of us are still reeling from the impacts of the pandemic means that unless our participation is subsided, it is an investment that carries way too much risk and not enough return.
The whole-of-nation approach has been talked about a great deal, especially since the start of the pandemic. When it comes to the tourism industry, I believe it is the one strategy that is very much needed in the case of the tourism industry. Ultimately, we are all working – directly or indirectly – towards a common goal of elevating the economy. So, transparency is crucial in ensuring collaborative efforts between the authorities and the stakeholders.
If our national carrier has a promotion in the coming year, especially with the goal of attracting foreign visitors, it would be good to keep us in the loop and well in advance, so we could come up with packages that support the initiative.
Take for example the annual Brunei December Festival. The authorities are not in this alone; both the tourism and hospitality sectors can help. Instead of asking us individually what our plans are for the month, perhaps a sit-down between the authorities and the sectors would give us a better idea of what the festival stands for.
At present, all we know is that it is held once a year to promote domestic tourism. In order to generate more interest, we need the public to know what they can expect from the festival and why it is worth giving up the yearly overseas travel for.
At the end of the day, the private sector is here to supplement the aspirations of the authorities. Having an open channel will allow us to better understand the national aspirations are and for the authorities to know what kind of support we need to help reach the goals.
Mister D
