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Why not the Philippines? Terrorism, kidnappings for profit, graft, corruption, open hostility towards the USA...... How many reasons do you want?
On top of that, the people from the Philippines who live in the states always give me the impression that they are measuring me up for a dive into my wallet and that if they can't charm money off of me, they have no use for me. That doesn't inspire me to go and visit an entire country of the same.
I never get that impression from any other group of foreign nationals (except the travelers while I was in Britain). Other nationalities, they are just people. Some friendly, a few (not many) less so, but they generally react to me like I am a human being.
Considering 8.6 million tourist arrival in Indonesia, i wouldnt say that the level of tourist in this country is low... Definitely higher than Vietnam and India.
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Originally Posted by FlightAttendant
We go to Asia at least twice a year for vacation. We have considered going to the Phils, but there is just too much crime and kidnapping for us to go. Yes, I would like to see the beaches there, etc, but there are simply too many other places to go that will allow us to see the natural beauty without the risks. We just got back from Fiji, it was safe, clean and the people were absolutely wonderful.
Malaysia is another place we have visited. We flew into Denpasar and stayed at one of the nice beach resorts. Bali is kind of a crazy place...the roads are terrible, the traffic is hideous, and there was no way we would attempt to drive there. Yet it is beautiful, the people are very nice and it is remarkably inexpensive. We hired a driver for a whole day and he took us out into the country side and to small villages, it was perfect. But, no way would we have done so in Jakarta...too many religious fanatics, kidnappings, etc. There were bombings of tourist hotels a while back. No thanks!
My tourist dollars go to nations who do not hate us. Recently we went to the Middle East and I said never again. Interesting to see, but clearly we were not welcome. By the way, although it is a little pricey, Singapore is fabulous.
Jakarta has very little attractiveness for tourist, religious fanatic?? Seriously i've never heard of an expats life in Jakarta facing any trouble with them, we got bad media for being the worlds so called "largest islamic country" ( despite the fact that Indonesia do NOT have state religion) There are very few to almost none kidnappings of tourist in this country. Its not like Mexico city where taxis mighr kidnap you. Terrorism?? Considering the security level today and number of terrorism? Its much much safer than Minandao kidnappings or Terrors in Southern Thailand or political protest in Bangkok.
Please do not take us as fanatics and kidnappers, there are reason why people say that Jakartas nightlife is comparable to Bangkok.. But in general its pedestrian unfriendly, polluted, smells and with all big city problem, ohh and doesnt have that many tourist attraction apart from malls and badly maintained old town... but NOT kidnapping and fanatics or terror bombing that keeps tourist away from the capital.
Btw i do know that the terrorist who bombed Bali and Jakarta are linked to Jamayaah terror group in Minandao, and are said to be funded by Malaysian government, Just saying.
As for what brings in tourists, it doesn't have a well-regarded airline or a tourist reputation.
Bangkok brings them in with a modern airport, painless immigration for westerners, a very good national airline, and a modern city with a modicum of safety.
Indonesia has its gems, but tourists are subjected to constant "give us $$$" at every turn. The visa on arrival is essentially just a foreign currency grab. A culture of corruption coupled with western wealth means that most tourists can be coerced into into surrendering anywhere from $5-50. The national airline was a complete basket case until very recently. Well-known problems like food safety and transportation difficulty don't help the image.
Yes corruption is terrible... But not so much in the airport i suppose, the police however is definitely corrupt and this doesnt apply only to tourist.
The national airline Garuda, is nominated world most improved airline in 2010 and as well the best regional airline. In 2013 it has surprassed many other airline, by being worlds no 8 best airline! Thai airway was good, but my last experience is terrible... I got a long hair in my blanket, and my table is not what you can say hygienic.
It's also a matter of advertising and promoting a country for tourism. I've seen country tourism boards with full page ads in leading magazines. Some countries excel at that, others don't. A country has to prioritize and then invest in it's tourist industry. I am sure both countries have excellent tourists sites but how often do you see it promoted? - it's not only adverstisement...but develop the infrastructure, encourage the vendors and suppliers to the tourist industry, ensure tourists safety, develop transportation, etc.
Tourism can be a serious economy boost to a developing country. A huge element of Egypt's economy was based on tourism before Mubarik fell, and employed about 15% of it's population, now look at it, their economy is losing billions of revenue a year because people are afraid to travel there. Indonesia has Bali of course (but that has turned into a tourist trap slum for drunken sunburned Aussies - one of the negative elements of promoting tourism).
Bali still has its charm, Aussies can easily be avoided if you go to central-northern part of the island where the real charm is. Ubud is still beautiful too, and they are promoting Lombok as the untouched Bali and gili hasnt failed both tourist and locals. Indonesia have more than Bali, its a large archipelago with different culture from each different island. But the marketing campaign is very poor, very few people knew about tanah toraja or lake toba or raja ampat marine park, i dont get it actually why the tourism dept didnt promote other island as well, when it can boast economy of that island as well. But infrastructure in Indonesia is poor, to get to some island is a challange, only Java and Bali had the best infrastructure compared to other island.
This is one of the crazier and less informed posts that I've seen on this site.
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Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke
Why not the Philippines? Terrorism, kidnappings for profit, graft, corruption, open hostility towards the USA...... How many reasons do you want?
Terrorism and kidnapping occurs only in the Muslim-dominated area (the far south of the country). It is not the norm in most of the country. The country itself is relatively safe (and safer than many parts of the US).
All governments have corruption. The US government is EXTREMELY corrupt (see Obamacare).
The Philippines is an ally of the US and is not openly hostile towards us.
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On top of that, the people from the Philippines who live in the states always give me the impression that they are measuring me up for a dive into my wallet and that if they can't charm money off of me, they have no use for me. That doesn't inspire me to go and visit an entire country of the same.
I've dated multiple Filipino women here in the US (they are actually my preference) and I can attest to the fact that this is false. Most Filipinos are kind and friendly, unless they become too Americanized. So it's possible that the Americanization is what you are seeing.
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I never get that impression from any other group of foreign nationals (except the travelers while I was in Britain). Other nationalities, they are just people. Some friendly, a few (not many) less so, but they generally react to me like I am a human being.
Very odd. Filipinos are, by far, some of the most friendly and laid back people on the planet. I've never met a group of people MORE friendly (and I've traveled....ACTUALLY traveled....a lot).
The Philippines was hit and miss for me. I absolutely dreaded Manila. By far the worst city I've ever traveled to. I'm sorry for those who are from there or like it. Also, the airport was just as bad. We were there at 3:00am for a 10:00am return flight and barely made it through the security checks in time. Bribery was up the wall. Ugh.
Now the good part. We took a city bus, which was an experience in itself, from Manila south to Batangas. We boarded a little boat (not without more security checks), and headed to a small island. I forget off-hand which. We walked from where our boat decided to run aground to our hotel/hut thing. We proceeded to lay on the beach and drink rum for three full days before returning home. The people on the island were very nice and welcoming, much more so than in Manila. I believe it is similar to visiting NYC and coming to the conclusion that all Americans are a-holes before going out in the countryside and interacting with some truly genuine people.
It was a lot of flying for five days; Atlanta to Detroit to Tokyo to Manila and back.
Because Indonesia is the largest Muslim country apperently it turned off lots of peole, many didnt even go beyond Bali, but many people too have bery little ideas about the Indonesians in general.
Because Indonesia is the largest Muslim country apperently
I know Indonesia has over 50 million more people than Pakistan but do they also have more true Muslims?
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