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Tourism Sector Hit By Red Tape
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - Factors inhibiting the tourism industry such as red tape, taxi fares, visa restrictions, the lack of development on Brunei beaches and high airfares were highlighted during the first official meeting of the Tourism Board on Monday.

The meeting was held six weeks after tourism officials had gathered in Ulu Temburong National Park to get acquainted and to brainstorm on issues of tourism.

The meeting was chaired by Dato Hj Hamdilah, Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and Chairman of the Brunei Tourism Board.

After reviewing what makes Brunei unique as a destination and its main positive aspects, such as safety and stability of the Sultanate, the hospitality and friendliness of its people and the pristine conditions of its natural heritage, the presentation by the CEO of the Brunei Tourism Board, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, highlighted red tape and cumbersome procedures affecting promotional and product development efforts by the tourism authorities and the private sector.

Problems related to taxi fares and operations, visa restrictions affecting high potential markets such as China, Hong Kong,

Russia and the Middle East, the lack of development along the long stretches of beaches that Brunei is blessed with and the high cost of airfares from key markets in Singapore and West Malaysia were highlighted.

The Board members were also informed on the department's market development strategies and different target markets, and on plans and projects budgeted for implementation in the next National Development Plan (9th NDP).

It aims at achieving a number of growth targets in terms of tourist arrivals, length of stay and expenditure, to be monitored through a balanced scorecard system tracking those figures and key performance indicators such as hotel occupancy rates, employment generation, enterprise creation, local and foreign investment in the sector and number of projects realised.

The Board members then endorsed a number of proposals put forward such as plans and projects to include in the 9' NDP and the organisational structure of the tourism department.

This was followed by comments and suggestions from the Board members covering the need to encourage a more active involvement in the promotion of Brunei by overseas diplomatic and trade missions, the need to promote Brunei with more intensity in targeted segments of the Middle East markets.

There is also a need to increase promotional activities focusing on certain times of the year, such as regional school holidays, Chinese New Year or the summer season in the long haul markets and the need to make better use of the calendar of events held in Brunei to help tourists to make decisions on when to travel here.

Meanwhile, the chairman in his opening remarks stressed His Majesty's consent on July 12, 2005 to the establishment of the Board and the upgrading of the Tourism Unit to a full-fledged department within the ministry that has signified the importance that His Majesty's government is giving to the development of the tourism industry in Brunei as a way to accelerate economic diversification and provide employment opportunities for the present and future generations.

After congratulating on the appointment of Board members, which include .four members of the private sector namely Royal Brunei Airlines, the Brunei Association of Hotels, the Brunei Association of Travel Agents and the Brunei International Chamber of Commerce representing the main tourism stakeholders in Brunei, the chairman reminded the members that the Board aims to be inclusive in order to foster private and public sector partnership, and welcomes input from all tourism stakeholders.

The meeting also reviewed the history of tourism in Brunei and its steady growth since mid 90's when efforts in tourism promotion started at the government level.

The Board members were reminded of the size and global importance of the tourism industry, the world's largest in monetary and employment terms, which is poised to double in size by 2020.

The main objectives for the tourism sector in Brunei are economic diversification, employment generation increase in foreign exchange revenue, attracting FDI and promoting a favourable image of Brunei as a holiday destination to both foreign and domestic tourists. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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