Ep 246: Indonesia's Inbound, Outbound & Domestic Travel Outlook, with Pauline Suharno, ASTINDO

“It’s cheaper to fly from Jakarta to KL, Bangkok or even Japan than to Manado.” Indonesia is South East Asia’s largest country and largest economy, and has a fascinating, fast-changing travel landscape. This week, Hannah welcomes back to the show Jakarta-based Pauline Suharno, President of ASTINDO, the Indonesian travel agents association, to assess the outlook for travel and tourism. Pauline discusses the progress of a new Indonesia Tourism Board, and a range of new train tourism packages.

She also addresses the impacts of government budget cuts on hotels and travel businesses in second-tier cities. Outbound travel is flourishing despite a weak rupiah and visa hurdles to jump, but where are the hot destinations for Indonesian tourists?

Plus, what is the “McDonalds of travel”, will new airlines get off the ground, and why are domestic airfares so expensive?