NOW! Indonesia, with Alistair Speirs

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.

nowjakarta.co.id

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!

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.

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.

Alistair Speirs returns, this time talking about how to avoid going back to the old normal amidst a society boasting about embracing the new one while still clinging to the old ways of doing things whether they realise it or not.

With many things in Jakarta being not exactly sustainable, can we really expect the city to become a sustainable city? Can we really equally take care of the people and the planet while generating profit? NOW! Jakarta Publisher, Alistair Speirs talks about the world’s most sustainable cities we can model after.

NOW! Jakarta Managing Editor Refa Koetin returns for a another episode of Pandemic Effect, sharing how the pandemic is affecting empaths—polar opposites of narcissists—everywhere, and how not to get burned if you think you are one.

Alistair Speirs returns with part two of The Philosophy of Crisis, this time citing great philosophers, such as William Du Bois, George Santayana and William James, on how to start the upcoming post-Covid-19 era the right way.

Alistair Speirs quotes a man of action from last century, Franklin D. Roosevelt, when the world faced an equally grave economical threat we may very well face very soon.

In the interest of keeping a positive view, NOW! Jakarta Managing Editor Refa Koetin will explore how this Covid-19 pandemic could potentially be a gift to narcissists.

This Covid-19 crisis is still ongoing in Indonesia and no one knows when this will end. Alistair Speirs OBE invites us all to consult some of the greatest philosophers to see what they had to say about crises.

Resuming the discussion on this Covid-19 crisis, Alistair Speirs looks at longstanding insurance laws to find potential explanation on who's responsible for the global pandemic.

If money is such a desirable thing to have, why are those who don't have it still happy? Why do we get bigger smiles from the people in the poorer parts of the city, and even more so in the country, than in the five-star hotels, elegant restaurants, and luxury malls?

In this episode, Alistair Speirs talk about things that are not available to purchase, on or offline, no matter how much money you have.

Listen to what NOW! Jakarta Publisher Alistair Speirs has to say about the effect of Covid-19 crisis to the tourism industry on NOW! Jakarta Podcast Episode 3.

If we are truly honest and compare our recovery time and our recovery programs to our neighbours in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, we will see we are very much slower than they are. Why is this and what can be done this time to make recovery quicker and easier – and more permanent!

Fascinating stuff and provides a good explanation as to where we are today, but also where we are heading, the evolution of SARS to MERS to Covid-19 is certainly only the beginning, somewhere out there is already Covid-Plus virus ready to take the battle to an even higher plain. Darwin told us 250 years ago. Why didn’t we listen?