Banten area expects tourist boom to start next year

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)