In this episode, Alistair Speirs ponders on the pros and cons of the tourism industry; on how it has so much potential to do good for regions, communities or nations, but only if it's done correctly. Herein lies the problem, it very rarely is! He shares what he believes would create a sustainable, equitable and balanced tourism industry, pointing out key problems and key solutions in its on-going development. 

Alistair Speirs speaks to the General Manager of one of Jakarta's latest luxury destinations, The Langham Jakarta, Gaylord Lamy.

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Janet DeNeefe is the Founder and Director of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), which was started as a way of boosting tourism after the first Bali Bombing. She began as as a cookbook author, sharing the wonders of Balinese cuisine, opened the Casa Luna restaurant and Honeymoon Guesthouse, and now has developed other Ubud-based events such as the Ubud Food Festival and Ubud Artisan Market. Here she talks with Alistair Speirs on the importance of the UWRF to Ubud and Bali, what makes it special, how it has continued to endure and what this year's festival has in store!

John Spence is the founder of KARMA Resorts and joined Alistair Speirs for a fascinating interview from somewhere on the exotic Greek island of Mykonos.  John has a very interesting background, which involves appearing on stage in bin liners and playing in punk bands, but he moved on from there first to become a music producer (Bananarama, Culture Club, Eurythmics!) then to become one of the world's foremost entrepreneurs in tourism development.   He had a vision to create a holistic connected community of unique five-star properties, linking like-minded individuals, people who wanted to own unique properties in his resorts.

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Alistair Speirs recently discussed the concept of the “Liveable City” with architect and urban observer Alwi Sjaaf.Alwi graduated from Technische Fachhoschscule, Berlin, Germany with a Dipl.Ing. in Architecture and went on to a highly successful career in architecture, design and development including five years as Director of PT. Lippo Karawaci, one of Indonesia’s top developers.

Read or Watch Further here: Architect and Urban Observer Alwi Sjaaf Defines ‘What Makes a City Liveable’

Mr. Haryadi Sukamdani is the General Chair of the Indonesian Hotel & Restaurant Association (PHRI) and the Indonesian Employers’ Association (APINDO) who combines a large number of roles, but perhaps is best known in the tourism sector as one the most venerated and admired hotelier families, the Sukamdani family who started the Sahid hotels so many years ago and were trailblazers in tourism.

Suzy Hutomo co-founded The Body Shop Indonesia with her husband in 1992, where she is now Chairwoman. Parallel to her successful career in business, she is a committed environmental activist. Suzy is a presenter in Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, and serves as a member on various boards of reputable NGOs such as Greenpeace South East Asia , Yayasan KEHATI , Yayasan Lensa Masyarat Nusantara  and Yayasan Kopernik .

To that matter, is anyone really needed? Do we ask what our city can do for us or do we stop and ask what we can do for our city? In this podcast, Alistair Speirs reminds us of Jakarta's many charms and why we must fight for it in our own ways, to the best of our ability.

Tourism is of paramount importance to Indonesia. In this podcast titled The Potential Return of Tourism, Alistair Speirs talks about how tourism is expected to make a comeback, while discussing famous travel predicaments, such as the short-haul versus long-haul profitability.

On this episode of NOW! Jakarta Podcast, Alistair Speirs talks about a new vision for Jakarta from a quality-of-life point of view, comparing the city now and some 40 years ago.