Banten area expects tourist boom to start next year
The Jakarta Post in cooperation with PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation, will be presenting weekly issues over the next six months on the attractions and activities of the Banten region.
JAKARTA (JP): West Java's Banten region, which claims to have multiple tourist attractions, expects to see tourism boom starting next year, with a significant increase in international tourist arrivals.
A top executive with the Banten World travel agent, Steve Setiadji, said that by 2000, his company would be able to attract an additional 1,000 international visitors to Banten.
"The growth rate is estimated to increase 50 percent yearly. This is a moderate figure," he said.
There is no data showing the number of tourist arrivals in the Banten area. The only official data states that tourists staying in star-rated hotels in West Java totaled 397,821 in 1998, up from 181,192 in 1997. The figure for domestic tourists was 1.09 million in 1998, up from 864,748 in 1997.
On average, overseas visitors spent 3.17 days in star-rated hotels per person per visit in West Java in 1998, an increase from 3.03 days in 1997. The length of stay nationwide reached 3.37 days last year. The figure for domestic tourists was 2.01 days, down from 2.05 days in 1997.
Setiadji is optimistic that Banten will be able to lure both domestic and international travelers as the region has various touristic attractions, including ecotourism, leisure, business, adventure, nature and arts and culture.
"Specifically, Banten has historical objects as well as beaches and nature reserves, a spectacular volcano, endangered and reef species, terrestrial scenery, indigenous communities, art and culture," he said.
As a part of West Java, Banten is quite large. The area includes over two million hectares of land, half of the West Java province. There are four regencies in Banten, comprising Serang, Pandeglang, Lebak and Tangerang. Based on the latest national survey, the total population in the regencies is six million.
PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation, a privately owned firm which was incorporated nine years ago, is aiming to develop promising new sites in western Java for tourism as well as supporting services. The company, convinced that Banten has everything in tourism, is licensed to develop a 1,500- hectare plot at Tanjung Lesung as a new tourist destination. It is currently inviting major international travel and hospitality industries to jointly develop the ambitious project.
Tanjung Lesung is a natural peninsula bordering Sunda Strait. The area surrounding Tanjung Lesung is notable for such outstanding attractions as the legendary Krakatau volcano and Ujung Kulon national park in Pandeglang.
Mark Rees of Banten World said that there were many travel and tour agencies operating to Banten, but his company was the first to exclusively promote the region.
"We will participate in the upcoming Travel Indonesia Mart and Expo in Jakarta next month and the ITB, which is a prestigious travel event in Berlin, Germany, next year," he said.
He says his company will promote Banten since the area has the potential to be developed as a wonderful tourist haven just like Bali, an important tourist destination in Indonesia.
"But there'll never be any rivalry with Bali. Instead, we're promoting Banten as another destination, in addition to Bali," he said.
He says that Banten is currently less popular internationally except for Krakatau volcano and Ujung Kulon park because there was no travel agent specialized in promoting the area.
"For instance, everybody knows about the Amish sect in America, but only a few realize and comprehend the more unique indigenous Baduy of Banten," he said, adding that for domestic people, Banten is far less popular compared to the mountainous, cool areas of Bandung and Puncak.
The Baduy community in Banten is a fascination in itself. The Baduy are an utterly unique, indigenous and private community. There are about 4,000 Baduy living in an area near Kendeng mountain, about 40 kilometers to the south of a town called Rangkasbitung in Lebak regency.
"We'll focus on Banten, but it does not mean that we're not going to promote the country or any other areas in Indonesia," Rees said.
He says that as an international tour and travel agent, Banten World is also planning to cooperate with local agencies situated in the Banten area.
"We'll be looking for partnerships in operating tours to secluded islands in the Banten area or to other places usually handled by local agents," he said.
Attractions
Setiadji says Banten is attractive to both domestic and international travelers.
"Domestic visitors are fond of Krakatau volcano, the Anyer beach area and general leisure. Foreign tourists also like Krakatau, as well as the Ujung Kulon reserve and the historical aspects of the area," he said.
It takes about three hours by car from the capital Jakarta to reach Banten, which offers idyllic beaches for swimming, snorkeling, fishing, water-skiing and sailing.
The region is also popular due to its great historical background and irreplaceable ruins of ancient buildings as well as a recorded past including objects of significance manifesting the proliferation of Islam in Java and the initial arrival of the Dutch in Java.
According to Setiadji, visitors from Europe, particularly from the Netherlands and Belgium, are very interested in these historical aspects.
"They're also keen on the Baduy," he said, adding that precious stones found in Banten are another attraction for them.
There are dozens of other attractions in Banten. This coastal area has the ruins of powerful Islam sultanates such as the palaces of Surosowan and Kaibon, the grand mosque of Masjid Agung (1599) and a Dutch fort as well as a Chinese temple.
Banten was the center of a trading empire in the 1600s. Early traders from Europe and the Middle East were familiar with this area as the traditional seafaring gateway to Southeast Asia and beyond.
Ujung Kulon national park, located on the southwestern tip of West Java, is a wildlife reserve of over 50,000 hectares, including the Ujung Kulon peninsula and the adjacent islands of Panaitan and Peucang. The reserve is a thick forest and is the home of the last surviving one-horned rhinos. Other inhabitants in the forest include bears, birds, deer, crocodiles, oxen, leopards and snakes.
Marine life in the surrounding waters is a kaleidoscope of colors. Splendid sea parks can be discovered off Peucang and Panaitan. There are fascinating diving areas for scuba lovers, though there are few coral reefs due to the long-ago Krakatau eruption. There is also a lighthouse constructed by the Dutch.
Krakatau volcano remains spectacular. The breathtaking marvel of Anak Rakata island, the "offspring" of Krakatau, is an active "young" volcano and clearly visible from the mainland. Krakatau erupted in 1883 with disastrous impacts, spreading its pulverized ashes as far as New York, while the tidal waves spanned the West Coast.
There is a rock formation with a hole in it, locally called Karang Bolong. This may have been the result of cooling lava, formed when Krakatau erupted. The rock is like a gate facing the sea, making its appearance visually pleasing.
Another attraction in Banten is Pulau Dua island, a nesting place of some 50 varieties of birds, located in Banten Bay. The birds, migrating from various places around the globe including Africa, Asia and Australia, live on the island every summer to breed, flying back home when their young have matured.
Accommodation
The well-known Carita Beach is only few steps from the main road. The Carita area itself is quite popular due to its sandy beaches and beautiful panorama, with the distant hulk of Krakatau looming on the horizon. A variety of luxury hotels, modest hotels, villas and simple losmen (low-cost guest houses) have mushroomed along the beachfront.
Star-rated hotels and losmen can also be found in Serang, Pandeglang, Lebak and Tangerang. Official data shows there are currently 1,275 star-rated hotels with a total of 34,374 rooms in West Java. The occupancy rate for star-rated hotels in the province was about 33.88 percent in 1998, slightly lower than the nationwide 38.45 percent.
No data is available on how many hotels are located in Banten, but it is estimated that 50 hotels including star-rated, nonstar- rated and losmen currently operate in the area.
Hotel executives in the area have said that the only challenge for them in promotion was how to attract visitors on weekdays.
They agreed that there were no barriers in luring visitors flocking to Banten on weekends. But the tourist industry does not live only from weekenders.
Rees said that Tanjung Lesung Resort Hotel, the only hotel in the Tanjung Lesung area, has always had ample guests on the weekends since its opening two years ago.
He said the occupancy rate of the four-star hotel, which is managed by Accor, was up to 95 percent on weekends but only half that during the week.
The same situation is experienced by other hotels in the area, like the Imperial Century Hotel and Resort in Tangerang. Hendra Surip of this five-star hotel said the occupancy rate was sluggish during the week.
"Fortunately, hoteliers in the Banten area understand that there's no use having a tariff war," he said.
Another star-rated hotel, the 600-room Sol Elite Marbella, located in Anyer, has also seen poor occupancy on "workdays". A. Ferdy of the hotel said that its occupancy rate had dropped since the beginning of a multitude of crises hit the country in mid- 1997.
"Usually we offer special packages for Indonesians and locally based foreigners to attract more guests," he said.
The two-star Mutiara Carita in Pandeglang offers special packages for meetings to attract more guests. "This can work if we also offer special tour packages," said Yani of the hotel.
All hotel executives agreed that the domestic market was still a promising market, while integrated promotions to attract more overseas visitors were always necessary.
Despite the gloomy occupancy rate, there is one important factor related to encouraging tourism development in Banten: local people are being employed, particularly in some of the bigger hotels.
This has had a multitude of effects on the local people in Banten in association with tourist development and promotion. Problems like massive land conversion, forced land acquisition, coastal erosion and marginalization of the local population can be avoided since local participation remains the key to sustainable tourism development. (I. Christianto)