Wildland Trekking Company

 

(01/25/2010) Anak Agung Gde Agung is one of the most distinguished statesmen and senior Indonesia informed. He is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Leiden. He studied at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the United States and served as minister of social services for the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The following article is taken from The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia Tourism – a national tragedy government officials at all levels say that tourism in Indonesia is doing well, and each year see a lot of progress. In contrast, however, all data indicate that tourism in Indonesia was sadly last decade.

In the last 12 years to 2007, the number of tourists has fluctuated between 4 and 5 million visitors. The average stay was reduced from 10 days in 1997 to only 8. Five days in 2008. Worse still is the way in Indonesia compared to neighboring Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, which last year attracted 10 million, 15 million and 22 million visitors respectively.

How can experience a huge discrepancy? How can Indonesia, full of richness in culture and natural beauty, attracts a quarter of the tourists who, after all Malaysia is sterile? ”

This tragedy seems to have originated in the 1980s, when Indonesia, short of funds and world famous in Bali are a source of tourism revenue. Since then, little has changed. As a result, Indonesia’s tourist attractions are virtually confined to Bali, with devastating consequences. Tourists flood in quantum leaps in Bali, creating an explosion of infrastructure needs that visibly eroding the natural environment.

The excessive concentration of tourists in Bali, not only has made too many visitors to the island unmanageable – often wrong, they can not appreciate the uniqueness of local culture and natural environment – but has also led to an abandonment total of the many other equally attractive tourist destinations in the archipelago.

Fabulous sites such as Borobudur, Yogyakarta, Toraja, Bunaken and Ujung Kulon, for instance, have been practically left unheeded. Such complacency has a high price, as can been seen from the destructive erosion that the overcrowding of tourists has brought to Bali’s culture and environment, and how it has stagnated Indonesia’s other richly diverse tourist destinations.

How bad are these other places stagnation? Here are some horrifying statistics:

Borobudur, the icon of the world cultural heritage, he could muster only about 85,000 foreign tourists last year, compared with more than 1 million more recent discovery of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Toraja in recent years has attracted an average of only about 5,000 foreign tourists a year.

Bunaken on average, only about 10,000 foreign visitors each year for as long as you may recall, compared with over 4 million for the like Pattaya in Thailand.

Ujung Kulon, with its rare one-horned rhino, can only claim an average of 6,000 combined domestic and foreign tourists a year.

A quick recovery and is not a prerequisite for this is a complete change of mindset. The first action was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to declare tourism a national priority and the central authorities and regional government and the private sector to work hand in hand in this effort. This should be followed by a rejuvenation of the preliminary activities of destinations that have languished quick win so far, but have only small improvements to increase the back.

Borobudur, for example, can be returned to glory by relocating street vendors who have been invading the temple grounds and harassment of visitors to fully enjoy this beautiful temple / monastery. Toraja may also attract more tourists to repair the abandoned airfield so that visitors can reach 45 minutes of Makassar and avoid the dangerous 10-hour journey through the rugged mountains.

As for Ujung Kulon, tourist numbers can easily rise to more than a million there within a very short time if regular and safe sea transportation is made available from Jakarta. There are other fabulous places besides those mentioned above currently suffering from lack of attention, such as Mount Bromo, Yogyakarta and Komodo Island, which only need small touches to turn them quickly into major tourist destinations while easing the pressure on overcrowded Bali.

The quick-impact phase “must be followed by a long-term accumulation of other national tourist sites, which require more investment in infrastructure to put in the travel card. These sites are still relatively unknown places, but have the potential to offer unique attractions and help themselves to support the long-term development of tourism in Indonesia.

These locations include Trowulan Kota Gede and historical interest, Raja Ampat and Banda Naira spectacular surfing and Baliem and Waikabubak Valley, to the maximum of ethnic experiences. There are many other places of interest and may be offered as a set of similar attractions to make the trip for tourists richer and more diverse.

During the two phases of the period of rapid and long-term gain, the tourism recovery efforts must be supported by adequate promotion campaigns with a common national brand. Malaysia has its own “truth Asia,” India “, his” incredible statement, while Singapore and Thailand, respectively, have called themselves “One of Singapore” and “Amazing Thailand.” Branding is important for the country’s position in the top of the minds of potential tourists, while the filtered right that tourists can appreciate what the country offers.

increased inflow of tourists, showing their appreciation for local specialties, will enable residents proud of their heritage and motivate them to further strengthen, which in turn will bring more tourists. This will result in an upward spiral of tourists and local people hand in hand to reinforce the traditional heritage of the land.

A successful tourism program can have many invaluable benefits to Indonesia, including what is the most diverse destination in the world, giving a clean and environmentally sustainable source of income than any of their current world and bring prosperity to the people in archipelago (not only Bali) through the basic responsibility and self-sustenance.