Brunei - Three Rs to boost tourism in Brunei

THE 2011 visitor arrivals numbers recently released by Brunei Tourism and Tourism Malaysia make fascinating reading.

It is not the absolute numbers that capture the imagination. Unsurprisingly, the visitor numbers for a country as large and diverse as Malaysia far outstrip those of Brunei.

However, a particular subset of these numbers highlight a business opportunity that could account for a potential increase of up to six per cent in Brunei's 2011 GDP; or an increase of nearly 25 per cent in the service sector contribution alone.

Now when the government talks about "economic diversification" or the National Development Plan, surely this is the sort of financial performance they are aiming for?

What is most exciting about this opportunity is that it is focused directly on Brunei's entrepreneurs, the very sector government is working so hard to encourage, develop and support.

Moreover, it is clear the opportunity does not require massive, government-led investment in capital infrastructure like factories and machinery; or even the acquisition or creation of highly expensive or complex intellectual property rights and licences.

In fact, the heart of this opportunity is surprisingly yet reassuringly simple; it is the three Rs retail, restaurants and recreation.

Tourism Malaysia's numbers for 2011 show us that Bruneian's accounted for more than 1.2 million arrivals ie, about five per cent of the overall in-bound traffic. More significantly, Bruneians spent more than $1.2 billion on their visits to Malaysia. In simple terms this means that the average Bruneian visited Malaysia three times last year, stayed three days and spent $1,000 per trip.

Brunei Tourism's figures show that although there was a very creditable increase of 13 per cent over 2010, the total visitor arrivals for 2011, from all countries, were slightly fewer than 250,000; who, in turn, contributed about $180 million to the local economy. In other words, on average each visitor stayed for three days and spent $750 per trip.

This represents a huge cash flow imbalance. Bruneians spend in Malaysia alone $1 billion more than the visitors from all countries, including Malaysia, spend in Brunei.

To balance the books, Malaysians need to spend on average $20,000 per visit; or else every international visitor has to increase spending to more than $7,000 per arrival. As we say in my part of England "fat chance!"

Average Bruneians have a spending power 217 per cent more than Malaysians; and at least 20 per cent more than the average Britain or Australian. You cannot close a gap from one side. Not only must we entice all visitors to spend more in Brunei; but, more importantly, we must encourage Bruneians to spend more in Brunei and that is where the real opportunity lies.

Jamilah Abdul Halim, director of Tourism Malaysia in Brunei, credited the ongoing attractiveness of Malaysia to the effectiveness of targeted travel promotions and campaigns, as well as the launch of MASwings.

This may well be the case. Malaysia has an enviable list of world-ranked tourism attractions and destinations, showcasing the best of eco- or sustainable tourism; leisure resorts; contemporary urban relaxation; as well as traditional, colonial and Islamic culture.

However, detailed research by UBD a couple of years ago and more recent data gathered by Tourism Malaysia tells a more compelling story for Bruneians.

More than 80 per cent of Bruneians visited Malaysia simply for shopping, dining and entertainment; only 10 per cent visited for reasons of culture.

This is great news! Why? Because that $1 billion spent in Malaysia is on stuff we already do, and in some case quite well, in Brunei.

The challenge for local entrepreneurs and service providers is, therefore, to step up and improve the quality of service experience delivered and customer engagement created, to regional best practice standards.

The role of any executive team is to manage his businesses to ensure the best possible returns for the owners when they are one and the same person, it is easy. Which owner / manager of a retail outlet, restaurant or recreation location does not want to improve their businesses performance, and hence their personal wealth?

What is even better news is that data available actually tell us what Bruneians think is so good about their three Rs experience in Malaysia.

Brunei service providers get a checklist of how to improve the Bruneian three Rs experience to not only win and keep local customers, but also get a big chunk of that $1 billion Bruneians choose to spend on retail, restaurants and recreation in Malaysia rather than in Brunei.

Just ask your friends and family. They are all Bruneian customers and probably part of the 1.2 million visitors to Malaysia each year.

Improving ICT literacy, training and skills is clearly an important investment for the future economic sustainability of Brunei. But it is also clear, that a comparable investment in improving Brunei's overall brand, service and customer experience culture and performance, would have a significant financial and economic impact almost immediately.

Mark Grieves is an international expert in Customer Experience Management and is a Principal with BerSaMa Jaya Education and Management (BEaM) Sdn Bhd, a consultancy focused on developing Brunei's human capital. The views of the writer are his own and are not necessarily those of The Brunei Times.

The Brunei Times

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