INDONESIA Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. The vast country of sprawling archipelago has much to offer; from natural beauty, historical heritage to cultural diversity. In 2012 the tourism sector contributes to around US$9 billion of foreign exchange, and is estimated will surpassed US$10 billion in the coming years. The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors. In year 2013, 8,802,129 international visitors entered Indonesia, staying in hotels for an average of 7.5 nights and spending an average of US$1,142 per person during their visit, or US$152.22 per person per day. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan are the top five source of visitors to Indonesia. Both nature and culture are major components of Indonesian tourism. The natural heritage can boast a unique combination of a tropical climate, a vast archipelago of 17,508 islands, 6,000 of them being inhabited, the third longest shoreline in the world (54,716 km) after Canada and the European Union. It is the worlds largest and most populous country situated only on islands. The beaches in Bali, diving sites in Bunaken, Mount Bromo in East Java, Lake Toba and various national parks in Sumatra are just a few examples of popular scenic destinations. These natural attractions are complemented by a rich cultural heritage that reflects Indonesias dynamic history and ethnic diversity. One fact that exemplifies this richness is that 719 living languages are used across the archipelago. The ancient Prambanan and Borobudur temples, Toraja, Yogyakarta, Minangkabau, and of course Bali, with its many Hindu festivities, are some of the popular destinations for cultural tourism. Tourism in Indonesia is currently overseen by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism. International tourism campaigns have been focusing largely on its tropical destinations with white sand beaches, blue sky, and cultural attractions. Beach resorts and hotels have been developed in some popular tourist destinations, especially Bali island as the primary destination. At the same time, the integration of cultural affairs and tourism under the scope of the same ministry shows that cultural tourism is considered an integral part of Indonesias tourism industry, and conversely, that tourism is used to promote and preserve the cultural heritage. Some of the challenges Indonesias tourism industry has to face include the development of infrastructure to support tourism across the sprawling archipelago, incursions of the industry into local traditions (adat), and the impact of tourism development on the life of local people. The tourism industry in Indonesia has also faced setbacks due to problems related to security. Since 2002, warnings have been issued by some countries over terrorist threats and ethnic as well as religious conflicts in some areas, significantly reducing the number of foreign visitors for a few years. However, the number of international tourists has bounced back positively since 2007, and reached a new record in 2008 and then made a new record every year and in 2012 set at 8,044,462 foreign tourists In 2013, based on World Economic Forum survey, Indonesia got Tourism Competitiveness Index score 4.0 and rank at number 70 (up from number 74 in 2011 and number 81 in 2009) from 140 countries. Aspects that need to be improved in order to move up the rank ladder are; tourism and ICT infrastructures, health and hygiene, environmental sustainability, and affinity for travel and tourism. Historical context The service and hospitality sector that linked to travel and leisure probably already exist since ancient Indonesia, especially ancient Java circa 8th century. Some panels in Borobudur bas-reliefs depicted drink vendors, warungs (small restaurant), and there is a building depicting people drinking, dancing and having fun, seems to describe tavern or lodging. The historical record about travel in Indonesia can be found since 14th century.[ The Nagarakretagama reported about King Hayam Wuruks royal travel throughout Majapahit realm in East Java with large numbers of carriages, accompanied by nobles, royal courtiers, officials and servants. Although it seems as stately affair, for some instances the kings journey is somewhat resembles modern day tour, as the king visited numbers of interesting places; from temples such as Palah and Jajawa, to enjoying mountain scenery, having bath in petirtaan (bathing pools) and beach. The 15th-century travelogue of Bujangga Manik, a travelling Hindu scholar-priest from Pakuan Pajajaran, reported about his travel around Java and Bali. Although his travel was a pilgrimage one; visiting temples and sacred places in Java and Bali, sometimes he behaves like a modern day tourist, such as sitting around fanning his body while enjoying beautiful mountain scenery in Puncak area, look upon Gede volcano that he describes as the highest point around Pakuan Pajajaran (capital of Sunda kingdom). Initially the tourism, service and hospitality sector in Dutch East Indies were developed to cater the lodging, entertainment and leisure needs of domestic visitors, especially the wealthy Dutch plantation owners and merchants during their stay in the city. In the 19th century, colonial heritage hotels equipped with dance halls, live music and fine dining restaurants were established in Dutch East Indies urban areas, such as Hotel des Indes (est. 1829) in Batavia (now Jakarta), Savoy Homann Hotel (est. 1871) in Bandung, Hotel Oranje (est. 1910) in Surabaya, and Hotel De Boer in Medan. Since the 19th century Dutch East Indies has attracted visitors from The Netherlands. The first national tourism bureau was the Vereeeging Toeristen Verkeer, established by Governor General of Dutch East Indies in early 20th century, and shared their head office in Batavia with Koninklijke Nederlansch Indische Luchtfahrt Maatschapijj (part of KLM) that began to fly from Amsterdam to Batavia in 1929.[25] In 1913, Vereeneging Touristen Verkeer wrote a guide book about tourism places in the Indies. Since then Bali become known to international tourist with foreign tourist arrivals rose for more than 100% in 1927.[25] Much of the international tourism of the 1920s and 1930s was by international visitors on oceanic cruises. The 1930s did see a modest but significant influx of mainly European tourists and longer term stayers to Bali. Many came for the blossoming arts scene in the Ubud area, which was as much a two-way exchange between the Balinese and outsiders as it was an internal phenomenon. Tourism more or less disappeared during World War II, Indonesian National Revolution and in the early years of the Sukarno era. On 1 July 1947, the government of Republic of Indonesia tried to revive tourism sector in Indonesia by establishing HONET (Hotel National & Tourism) led by R. Tjitpo Ruslan. This new national tourism authority took over much of colonial heritage hotels in Java and all named as Hotel Merdeka. After Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference in 1949, this tourism authority change its name to NV HORNET. In 1952 the President formed the Inter-Departement Committee on Tourism Affairs that responsible to explore the possibility to reestablish Indonesia as worlds tourism destination. National pride and identity in the late 1950s and early 1960s was incorporated into the monumentalism of Sukarno in Jakarta— and this included the development of grand multi-storied international standard hotels and beach resorts, such as Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta (est. 1962), Ambarrukmo Hotel in Yogyakarta (est. 1965), Samudra Beach Hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu beach West Java (est. 1966), and Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Bali (est. 1966). The political and economic instability of the mid-1960s saw tourism decline radically again. Bali, and in particular the small village of Kuta, was however, in the 1960s, an important stopover on the overland hippy trail between Australia and Europe, and a secret untouched surf spot. In the early-to-mid-1970s, high standard hotels and tourist facilities began to appear in Jakarta and Bali. After the completion of Borobudur restoration project in 1982, Yogyakarta become a popular tourist attraction in Indonesia after Bali, mostly attracted to this 8th-century Buddhist monument, surrounding ancient Javanese temples and Yogyakarta Sultanate palace. From this period to the end of the Suharto era, governmental policies of the tourism industry included an array of regulations and developments to encourage increasing numbers of international tourists to both visit Indonesia and stay longer. Nature tourism ndonesia has a well-preserved, natural ecosystem with rainforests that stretch over about 57% of Indonesias land (225 million acres), approximately 2% of which are mangrove systems. One reason why the natural ecosystem in Indonesia is still well-preserved is because only 6,000 islands out of 17,000 are permanently inhabited. Forests on Sumatra and Java are examples of popular tourist destinations. Moreover, Indonesia has one of longest coastlines in the world, measuring 54,716 kilometres (33,999 mi), with a number of beaches and island resorts, such as those in southern Bali, Lombok, Bintan and Nias Island. However, most of the well-preserved beaches are those in more isolated and less developed areas, such as Karimunjawa, the Togian Islands, and the Banda Islands. Dive sites With more than 17,508 islands, Indonesia presents ample diving opportunities. With 20% of the worlds coral reefs, over 3,000 different species of fish and 600 coral species, deep water trenches, volcanic sea mounts, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life, scuba diving in Indonesia is both excellent and inexpensive. Bunaken National Marine Park, at the northern tip of Sulawesi, claims to have seven times more genera of coral than Hawaii, and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific. According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Moreover, there are over 3,500 species living in Indonesian waters, including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, morays, cuttlefish, octopus and scorpionfish, compared to 1,500 on the Great Barrier Reef and 600 in the Red Sea.Tulamben Bay in Bali boasts the wreck of the 120 metres (390 ft) U.S. Army commissioned transport vessel, the Liberty. Other popular dive sites on Bali are at Candidasa and Menjangan. Across the Badung Strait from Bali, there are several popular dive sites on Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. Lomboks three Gilis (Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan) are popular as is Bangka. Some of the most famous diving sites in Indonesia are also the most difficult to reach, with places like Biak off the coast of Papua and the Alor Archipelago among the popular, more remote, destinations for divers. Surf breaks Surfing is also a popular water activity in Indonesia and the sites are recognised as world class. The well-known spots are mostly located on the southern, Indian Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, the large oceanic surf breaks on southern Java. However, the north coast does not receive the same surf from the Java Sea. Surf breaks can be found all the way along Sumatra, down to Nusa Tenggara, including Aceh, Bali, Banten, Java, Lombok, the Mentawai Islands, and Sumbawa. Although Indonesia has many world-class surfing spots, the majority of surfers are came from abroad, especially Australia and United States. However, the seed of local surfing enthusiast began develop in Bali and West Javas Pelabuhan Ratu and Pangandaran beach, mostly came from nearby cities of Jakarta and Bandung. On Bali, there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali including four on the offshore island of Nusa Lembongan. In Sumbawa, Huu and Lakey Beach in Cempi Bay are popular surfing spots among surfing enthusiast. Sumatra is the second island, with the most number of surf spots, with 18 altogether. The common time for surfing is around May to September with the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From October to April, winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so the east coast breaks get the offshore winds.[citation needed] Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the G-Land in the Bay of Grajagan, East Java, and Lagundri Bay at the southern end of Nias island. G-Land was first identified in 1972, when a surfer saw the break from the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8 foot (Hawaiian scale) waves were discovered by surfers at Lagundri Bay in 1975, the island has become famous for surfing worldwide.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:35:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015