Both Indonesia and the Philippines have never really fared too well when being ranked on the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR). The 2008 version was released recently, and on this year's report, the Philippines moved up three spaces from 86th place last year, to 83rd position this year.
Although Indonesia's position remained unchanged at the 80th spot, Communications Minister Djusman Syafii Djamal seemed to be optimistic regarding his country's 2008 tourism predictions.
Djusman recently stated that he forecasted that there would be an 18% increase in air passengers to Indonesia adding to last years total of 36.13 million. Djustman added that his expectations are based on past performance over the last seven years. In contrast, the Philippines appears to have not executed any nationwide policies which would warrant promotion on the list. The promotion seems to have been due to other countries doing worse than the Philippines.
Whatever the case, property investors in both nations are happy to hear the news. With other markets either saturated or cooling dramatically in response to the global market downturn, many investors are seeking developing nations with growing and untapped potential. Although both Indonesia and the Philippines have experienced considerable amounts of political unrest, there are fewer issues in the main cities.
Manila, a city in the Philippines, has been relatively overpopulated for nearly two decades. Only recently have developers begun looking at potential investments in the region. The situation in Indonesia seems quite similar to the Philippines where although there is a fair amount of political unrest that regularly makes the evening news, the events are generally far removed from the larger cities.
Property developers are now examining opportunities in these areas as alternatives to areas where the real estate market is more closely tied into the events of the stock markets of the region.