Bali has abundant, untapped diving destinations<\/p>\n
Ayu Anggraeni, Contributor, Karangasem, East Bali<\/p>\n
Tourism, which provides the bulk of the diving industry's income,
\nis already one of Southeast Asia's most important money-spinners,
\nand moves are afoot to further improve infrastructure and make
\nthe respective countries more palatable to international
\ntravelers.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, with its 17,000 islands, plays host to 16 percent
\nof the world's coral reefs and is already known worldwide as one
\nof the top diving destinations.<\/p>\n
Exotic and consummate dive destinations like Bali, Lombok in
\nWest Nusa Tenggara, Manado in North Sulawesi and choice islands
\nin the Flores Sea and the Banda Sea already figure prominently in
\nany seasoned diver's logbook.<\/p>\n
Discounting the huge majority of the 17,000 islands, which
\nremain underdeveloped, Indonesia still offers a sizable, untapped
\npotential. As competition intensifies across the region, tourists
\nwill likely be drawn to the destinations that best market and
\nmanage their tourism products and potential.<\/p>\n
At a recent seminar on the potential of the country's marine
\npotential, organized by the Bali's Marine Journalists
\nAssociation, in Sanur, vice president of PADI Asia-Pacific Claus
\nC. Nimb said that in the past three years, the Asian region had
\nproduced consistently an annual double-digit certification growth
\nfigure, placing Asia as the top-performing region in the world
\nfor recreational scuba diving.<\/p>\n
This was based on the issuance of diving certificates provided
\nto professional dive operators and professional divers.<\/p>\n
"Those figures were based on the issuance of certificates from
\nPADI international dive training and operators, not to mention
\nthose issued by other operators," he said.<\/p>\n
Australia and Thailand still enjoy the bulk of the total
\ncertification pool, with 64,800 and 53,000 certifications
\nrespectively in 2002. The Philippines, in the meantime, turned
\nout 13,700 certifications, New Zealand 11,000, Malaysia 8,500,
\nIndonesian 8,300 and Singapore 6,400. All these markets, with the
\nexception of Indonesia, have over the past three years produced
\nannual growth figures between 2.5 percent and 22 percent.<\/p>\n
Among marine sports, scuba diving uniquely offers a three-
\ndimensional sensory experience, a full range of experiences from
\nrelaxing to high adventure, interactions with other people and
\nlife forms, fish, turtles, dolphins, mantas and enrichment of a
\nperson's sense of purpose and self. "And this is a most lucrative
\nbusiness," Nimb added.<\/p>\n
According to a PADI survey, most divers are between 16 and 40
\nyears of age and 69 percent are male. They are outdoor-loving,
\nfun-seeking and adventurous individuals with a steady job. During
\ntheir diving trips, they prefer middle- to upper-class (up to
\nUS$125 per night) accommodation. The diving individual spends an
\naverage of $2,200 on his five- to 10-day holiday.<\/p>\n
According to Cipto A.Gunawan of Bahtera Lestari, a community-
\nbased integrated marine ecotourism and eco-training management
\norganization, Indonesia has more diving destinations as compared
\nwith Thailand.<\/p>\n
But Thailand earned approximately $128 million to $240 million
\nin foreign exchange revenue from scuba diving and related
\nactivities, while the equivalent figure for Indonesia was only
\n$13.18 million to $24 million.<\/p>\n
"If we managed our diving industry properly, we could earn
\nabout $507 million to $960 million from diving, hotel
\naccommodation, diving facilities and other related activities,"
\nGunawan said.<\/p>\n
A number of factors have hampered the development of the local
\ndiving industry. First, a lack of integrated government policies,
\nwhich regulate underwater development and protection.<\/p>\n
Gunawan noted that the government, as well as the public,
\nstill had little understanding of how to manage and protect our
\nmarine resources.<\/p>\n
Local fishermen, for instance, have no understanding of how to
\ncatch fish and marine produce without destroying the environment.<\/p>\n
"Traditional fishing practices, which often use potassium
\nbombs to catch fish, have certainly destroyed the rich coral
\nreefs and other marine species," Gunawan said.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia has not yet marketed its diving destinations in the
\ninternational tourism markets," he said. "We promote our products
\nby ourselves without integrated and government-supported
\npromotional campaigns," he added.<\/p>\n
To make matter worse, Indonesia has only a small number of
\nprofessional trainers and dive operators. Inadequate
\ninfrastructure, including roads, proper diving sites and
\nfacilities, have also prevented both domestic and foreign divers
\nfrom reaching beautiful diving destinations in Indonesia's remote
\nislands, such as in West and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.<\/p>\n
"Bali has been the best diving destination in Indonesia, with
\nadequate facilities and a lot of professional diving trainers,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
However, a series of incidents, such as the Bali bombing, and
\nthe resultant travel advisories imposed by certain countries,
\nhave left the diving industry on the island in a difficult
\nposition.<\/p>\n
The Association of Marine Tourism Association's Bali Chapter
\nhas created a number of programs to attract international divers
\nback to the island.<\/p>\n
Among the programs are Dive for Peace, the Darwin-Bali Yacht
\nRace in corporation with the Australian Yacht Club and ocean
\nclean up, together with the Singapore Diving Community, to clean
\nup Bali's beaches and underwater.<\/p>\n
Gogo Prayogo, chairman of the association, has called on the
\ngovernment to help support marine tourism operators, especially
\nthose in Bali, which is the prima donna of Indonesia's marine
\ntourism.<\/p>\n
He also suggested the government ease the complicated
\nregulations concerning diving and marine sports.<\/p>\n
Complicated government bureaucracy in the issuance of various
\npermits for operators and international divers and sportsmen has
\nforced them to look to other diving alternatives, he said.<\/p>\n
"Compared with those in Thailand and Malaysia, Indonesia's
\nimmigration system and marine policies are the most complicated.
\nThousands of divers prefer to avoid Indonesian waters because of
\nthis ongoing problem," Prayogo said.<\/p>\n
More importantly, he said, both the government and the banking
\nsectors were still reluctant to support the development of marine
\ntourism in Indonesia, despite abundant resources.<\/p>\n
"The government has only provided rhetoric. The banking sector
\nhas been unhelpful so far," said an executive of a marine resort,
\nwho declined to be named.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bali-has-abundant-untapped-diving-destinations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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