<B> Indonesia Recovers</B>
By Judy Jacobs
Political unrest throughout Indonesia this spring caused foreign companies to send their expatriate employees packing and business travel to nearly come to a halt. While the situation has settled and the future for business travel to the country looks brighter--and insiders say foreign travelers are not in any particular danger--they still should take precautions, Jakarta hoteliers advise.
"As in any large industrialized city, basic common sense should be applied when traveling around," said Kamal Chaoui, general manager of the Hotel Aryaduta. "Check with your hotel concierge for transportation requirements and for information about the destination you are going to."
While it is safe to go out at night, "precautions should be taken to avoid disreputable night spots. Foreign business travelers should exercise sensibility--be sensitive to the culture and be wary of voicing political opinions about the country," he said.
Chaoui also recommended that visitors travel around Jakarta only with reputable ground transportation companies, such as Bluebird, Hertz or Avis.
Bruce Moore, director of operations for the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Jakarta, agreed. He said that at as little as $10 per hour, "the security of having a car on standby at your restaurant or bar is excellent value for your money."
"Economically the situation in Indonesia, for Indonesians, is grim," Moore said. "Inflation is close to 50 percent, and unemployment is also increasing as a number of companies are forced to close down."
Still, he noted, "the opportunities for foreign long-term investment are tremendous. Years of rapid financial growth and optimism have resulted in a modern infrastructure that belies the nation's current financial status. All these modern facilities, labor and locally produced goods have never been more affordable to cashed-up foreign investors."
Even the "painfully bureaucratic and corrupt official channels of business that have been a thorn in the side of many foreign companies are changing, with widespread popular resistance to corruption and nepotism," he added.
Still, problems persist. Rising inflation and unemployment have resulted in an increase in crime, though "this is not noticeably directed towards foreigners, and there have been very few reports of personal crime against foreigners in Jakarta," Moore said.
The importance of using reputable taxi service and drivers cannot be overemphasized in a city where most taxi drivers speak little, if any, English. "The Hotel Sari Pan Pacific, for example, only permits credible, certified tax companies to pick up guests at the hotel and has an agreement with Bluebird, the city's most highly reputed company for limousines and taxis," Moore said. Guests getting into a taxis are given a card with the hotel's address and contact details on it. The bottom half of the card has written on it the guest's name and the taxi's registration number and company name, and is kept by the doorman.
If ever a guest feels he or she has been "taken the long way" to a destination or otherwise been treated unfairly, the hotel can easily trace the driver.
"While guests are usually unaware of this precaution, taxi drivers are not, and it has proven to be a great deterrent," Moore said. The usual use of this system, however, is tracking down a taxi in which a guest has left a cell phone or shopping bag.