Pemuteran village successful in boosting tourism<\/p>\n
By Alpha Savitri<\/p>\n
BULELENG, North Bali (JP): Prior to the 1990s, Pemuteran was
\none of Bali's poorest villages but not anymore. Not only have the
\nvillagers successfully made their village more attractive but
\nalso more prosperous thanks to tourism.<\/p>\n
Pemuteran, in Gerokgak subdistrict, Buleleng regency, is
\nincreasing in popularity with tourists fond of meditating and
\ndiving. The village has both a strong spiritual attraction and
\namazing marine wealth. While diving addicts have formed an
\nintimate attachment with the coral reefs and beautiful fish,
\nothers can watch turtles swim freely in the sea.<\/p>\n
Pemuteran is really a haven for peace lovers. There is neither
\ndiscotheques nor other noisy places. If you are tired of your
\nroutine, you can relax here. This tourist village is just three
\nhours from Denpasar. There are several routes that will bring you
\nhere. It is recommended that you take the Denpasar-Bedugul-
\nPemuteran route as along this road, particularly when you arrive
\nin Bedugul, the scenery is really beautiful.<\/p>\n
As soon as you enter the village, you will see temples with an
\narchitectural design quite different from other temples in Bali.
\nThen your eyes feast on the hills and later a number of bungalows
\nand star-rated hotels come into view. Some of these establishment
\noverlook the sea.<\/p>\n
Pemuteran was virtually unknown among tourists until 1989. It
\nwas then a dry and barren place. Trees were felled to feed cattle
\nand to be used as firewood. Apart from fishing, the locals earned
\ntheir living planting corn. Understandably, virtually nobody was
\ninterested in this village.<\/p>\n
It remained Bali's poorest and barren village until Agung
\nPrana, a tour operator, and now the Association of Indonesian
\nTravel Agencies Bali chapter deputy chairman, received divine
\ninspiration in the late 1980s to tap the hidden tourism potential
\nof the village.<\/p>\n
An ardent practitioner of meditation in large temples in Bali,
\nAgung said that one day he felt as if a very strong spiritual
\npower had taken him to bathe in the sea off Pemuteran. \"It was
\nwhen I was doing so that it occurred to me that Pemuteran could
\nbe developed. Many people could not believe that I really wanted
\nto develop the potential of this area,\" he reminisced.<\/p>\n
It was when he was in the sea that Agung thought this area
\nwould be very beautiful with a little work. Dolphins cavorting in
\nthe sea every morning, and the rich variety of fish species and
\ncoral reefs would be a great asset for the development of marine
\ntourism, he thought. He was also sure that this hilly area would
\nbe good for adventure-loving tourists.<\/p>\n
In addition, he thought, Pemuteran would also be the right
\nplace for meditation practitioners as a magic aura emanated from
\nits many temples. Also, the village's natural hot-water spring
\ncould be developed into an attractive bathing place for tourists.<\/p>\n
As he was very keen on tapping the tourism potential of this
\nvillage, Agung sold his automobile in 1990 and purchased a plot
\nof land at Rp 25,000 per 100 square meters. Today the price of
\nland in the village is Rp 10 million per 100 square meters. \"The
\nland in this village back then was very cheap. Many people even
\nrefused a free plot of land in Pemuteran,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Teaming up with a German, Agung had a jasmine-rated 12-room
\nhotel built. It was the first hotel in the area and before it
\nbecame operational he provided the villagers with a crash course
\nin tourism and English. He wanted to recruit only Pemuteran
\nvillagers for his hotel. He believed it was the villagers that
\nhad to benefit from tourism in this area. \"I want to see them
\nhave a better life after Pemuteran was been turned into a tourist
\narea,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides this, Agung, also managing director of Nagasari Tours
\nand Travel, also carried out an environmental awareness campaign
\nfor the villagers. It was the right thing to do because Pemuteran
\ncould attract tourists only with well-looked-after and peaceful
\nnatural and marine environments. The campaign was conducted
\nthrough traditional art performances like arja and wayang wong
\n(stage shows with themes from shadow puppet stories) with which
\nBalinese are very close.<\/p>\n
Thanks to this campaign, local people no longer fell trees at
\nwill. They no longer use explosives when fishing, unlike
\nelsewhere across the country. The campaign has made them
\nunderstand that an explosion will damage the coral reefs, the
\nhabitat of fish and other marine biota.<\/p>\n
Agung has encouraged the entire village to contribute ideas
\nfor the development of tourism which may improve the welfare of
\nthe home-base society. They become increasingly aware that they
\nmust improve their lot. So they have invited marine-related
\nbusinesses to operate here on the condition that part of the
\nprofit must be set aside for the village and that the workers
\nmust be recruited from among the villagers.<\/p>\n
A change has now taken place in this village. Villagers
\nformerly only good at growing corn and fishing are now actively
\nengaged in the tourism sector. Pemuteran can now boast diving
\noperators employing some of the village's young people as diving
\nguides. These young people have joined intensive training
\nprograms carried out by the Association of Balinese Marine-
\nRelated Tour Operators.<\/p>\n
The association's chairman, Yos Amerta, said, \"They have been
\ntaught many subjects such as practical diving knowledge, how to
\nact in an emergency and some knowledge about coral reefs and
\necology.\"<\/p>\n
Pemuteran is now on Bali's list of tourist destinations. It
\nhas a one star-rated hotel and a number of jasmine-rated hotels
\nas well as cottages. A plan has also been made to build a Marine
\nClub, a mega-tourism project with some of the shares owned by the
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
Pemuteran village chief, Mayan Werta, admitted that tourism
\ndevelopment involving locals has encouraged the villagers to
\nguard their own environment, including a custom prevailing to
\nimpose fines on anyone damaging th marine and forest environment.<\/p>\n
\"The fine is small but those damaging the environment will be
\nembarrassed because they will be tried in a banjar (village
\nassociation) meeting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Villagers voluntarily take turns keeping watch over the sea
\nterritory of Pemuteran. A custom elder, I Wayan Siram, said,
\n\"Fishermen from neighboring villages often fish here and they use
\nexplosives. The villagers are not happy because the explosives
\nnot only kill fish and turtles; they also damage the coral reefs.
\nIf this situation is allowed to continue, there will be nothing
\nthat the sea here can sell.\"<\/p>\n
Even turtles can lay eggs peacefully in the sands of Pemuteran
\nbeach. \"We have provided a place where turtles can be bred in
\ncaptivity. When they are old enough, these young turtles will be
\ntaken back to the sea, their original habitat,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pemuteran is yet to be as famous as Ubud, Sanur or Kuta, but
\nit is good enough to reckon with as an alternative tourist spot.
\nIt is a good example for other villages wishing to be successful
\nin the tourism sector.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pemuteran-village-successful-in-boosting-tourism-1447893297",
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