Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 17 TRAVEL AGENT Describe your career as a travel agent. How did you get your start in the industry? My father started the travel business since I was a kid. During our school holidays, as my parents were busy handling their customers, I used to spend my time at the office watching the customers planning their trip. Staff gave me simple tasks like stamping the envelope, inserting the passport covers, etc. When I graduated from junior high school, my father enrolled me in a tourism high school, and from that time I knew I would end up in the travel industry. Director of Jakarta-based Elok Tour and secretary general of ASTINDO National Board shares challenges and tips for fellow agents to stay relevant in the face of competition By Lee Xin Hui A chat with Elok Tour's Pauline Suharno What are some things you enjoy most about your job? Opportunities to travel more, meet lots of people and experience new things. When I later decided to be a board member of travel association ASTINDO, I had even more chances to do the things I enjoy. Can you share more about Elok Tour and what it specialises in? When my father founded this company, he and his friends merely focused on travel documents and airport transfer. After my mother joined him, they started to sell air tickets and hotel vouchers. The long-term relationships and networks built among his friends and family have really helped the business to be where it is today. These days, our clients – most of whom are seniors and niche segments like premium FITs – like to be pampered and look out for detail- oriented service. While ticketing and documents still dominate our business, as a travel agent, we sell everything related to this industry. What are some challenges that you're facing as a travel agent in Indonesia? There is an overabundance of travel fairs being held by the likes of associations, airlines, media, NTOs, credit cards, banks and shopping malls, which has led to consumers purchasing their air tickets during the fairs instead of with us. OTAs are also proving to be a challenge as some of them are backed by large companies. In spite of our best efforts to create an online platform, go digital and sell online, it's tough to compete without the same level of funding. Nowadays with the ease of seeking travel information from the Internet – think blogs, NTO website and more), consumers may plan their trips based solely on those tips, deeming the role of travel agents unnecessary. How do you think travel agents can better serve the needs of Indonesian travellers? We have to be more creative and act not as sales executives but more like travel consultants who can identify our customers' needs and recommend a product that matches their interests. With all the fast-paced changes that are happening in this industry, how can travel agents continue to stay relevant? Keep learning, stay positive, keep an open mind and don't dwell on past glories. Most of the travel agents here are brick and mortar. Most of us started our businesses a long time ago and have enjoyed high revenue with little competition. Grumbling, protesting and expecting the government to do something to protect us (against new and emerging competitors) are not feasible. What is one change you would like to see in the local tourism landscape? More convenient access to tourist attractions, security guarantee for tourists, improved cleanliness of public facilities, and last but not least, for our local tour operators to offer tours that not only allow tourists to enjoy our landscape, but also explore our local culture and cuisine in order to grow the local economy. What are some of your favourite travel destinations? I like places where I can both relax and shop, are not too crowded and offer creature comforts so I won't have to "suffer" during the trip. Currently Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Lombok are my favourite travel destinations. Being able to travel is a great job perk. "We have to be more creative and act not as sales executives but more like travel consultants who can understand customers' needs." – Pauline Suharno, director of Elok Tour Above: Jakarta-born Pauline Suharno believes an open mind and proactive approach is key to staying relevant in the new age of travel.

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