Banten follows Nusa Dua way to build quality tourist sites

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): The development of tourist resorts in Indonesia is vital to improve the quality of the tourist industry in the country. Well-planned developments of tourist resorts with adequate supporting facilities will attract private companies to invest in the areas.

The government has planned several areas but only a few have been successfully developed as designated tourist resorts. One of the most successful is the well-known Nusa Dua in Bali.

A member of the board of patrons of the Indonesian Tourist Resorts Association, I.P.N. Sunetja, said that tourist resorts were needed to attract more foreign travelers to the country.

"Some areas with potential for tourism in Indonesia have poor tourist facilities, including hotels. The development of the facilities is ideally concentrated in one location," he said.

"From a single tourist resort, we can control the negative impacts because controlling and monitoring many aspects will be easier. On the other hand, tourist resorts will create a more qualified tourist industry."

He said the Nusa Dua Tourist Resort in Bali proved that the tourist industry in the area grew well, with significant knock-on effects for the surrounding community.

Nusa Dua was once an obscure strip of coast on Bali's southern Bukit peninsula, but it boasted beautiful surroundings amid two peninsular islets. A small population lived in nearby Bualu village. The government decided to develop the area as a tourist resort with the support of several foreign consultants.

PT Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) was incorporated in the early 1970s to develop a 300-hectare area as a tourist estate with various facilities including a water supply system, electricity power supply system, sewage treatment and waste disposal plants, storm drainage and irrigation systems, telecommunications and roads.

To minimize the project's disruptive effects, use of the infrastructure facilities was shared with the local population. BTDC also set out design guidelines to assure that all buildings would be low-rise, low density and in harmony with Balinese architectural practices.

A feasibility study contracted by the World Bank also sought a new concept for the revival of Indonesia's national economy, focusing on tourist development in Bali, already known for its vibrant culture and attraction to tourists. The project aimed at self-containment to provide a buffer between the potentially negative effects of tourism in terms of both cultural and social change in the lives of the Balinese and the subsequent environmental deterioration.

By concentrating the hotels and facilities in one area, planning and installation of both on-site and off-site infrastructure were vastly simplified and the final cost to the hotel's investors for land acquisition, access, utilities and other services was substantially reduced.

Sunetja said a tourist area could be the front line to develop the tourist industry.

"It's a bit difficult to define what is a tourist area. But I think it relates to the development and participation of local people.

"We have to be very careful and must pay serious attention to this matters. We have also find out that the area has good climate and accessibility.

"In Nusa Dua, the weather is fine. It rarely rains during the day. In addition, it's not far from the airport and other tourist destinations. Meanwhile, water, power supply and other infrastructural facilities are good."

He said Nusa Dua was not a magnet for outsiders to flock into the area.

"On the contrary, there's no urbanization to Nusa Dua when the project was completed and growing. Everybody.

Eleven first-class hotels operate in Nusa Dua: Amanusa, Bali Hilton International, Hotel Putri Bali, Grand Hyatt Bali, Melia Bali, Sheraton Laguna, Sheraton Nusa Indah, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, Club Mediterranean, Hotel Bualu, The Bali Aga and Bali Desa Apartments. The number of rooms totals 3,527 with an occupancy rate of 55.09 percent in average in 1998. Visitors spent an average of 4.77 days.

Natural beaches and views, religious beliefs, rites and cultural festivals are the characteristics of Bali, the country's main tourist gateway but formerly an agricultural economy.

Most of the island's four million people now make their living from tourism, either directly through hotels and restaurants or indirectly through garments and souvenir making.

Banten

In collaboration with private companies, the government has developed other tourist resorts, namely in Lombok, Manado and Makasssar, formerly Ujungpandang. There is also Tanjung Lesung, a 1,500-hectare plot in Banten, West Java, which is being developed as a massive tourist resort by PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation.

Located on the western tip of Java, Banten was the hub of a commercial empire during the 16th to 19th centuries. It was originally subject to the Hindu state of Pajajaran, but later an independent power under an Islamic sultan.

It shows great potential for development as a tourist area, with legacies of ancient buildings and kingdoms and other sites of historic value. It is about 80 kilometers west of Jakarta, but now easily accessible from the network of toll roads and well- planned roads.

Banten is a huge expanse, covering about two million hectares, and spanning the four regencies of Lebak, Pandeglang, Serang and Tangerang.

Near Banten off the northwest coast of Java, is the sea-level island of Pulau Dua, one of the world's foremost island habitats for bird.

In Anyer, a coastal area in Banten, there is an old and photogenic iron lighthouse built by the Dutch in 1885 at the behest of Queen Wilhelmina. Anyer was the largest Dutch port on the coast before it was wiped out by tsunamis from the 1883 Krakatau eruption. Anyer was also the point for the start of the Java highway during the administration of Daendels (1762-1818).

It is about a three-hour drive from Jakarta to Banten, which also offers a white-sand shoreline and swimming. The distant but imposing sight of Krakatau and Anak Krakatau are other attractions, as well as the isolated Baduy community and the pristine flora and fauna of the Ujung Kulon wildlife reserve.

Sunetja said Tanjung Lesung held good prospects since it was developed with its potential resources with a well-planned master plan.

"It's difficult to copy Bali. But Banten is not Bali and each has its own characteristics."

He said that the government, local authority and private companies could create a good organization to promote Banten, the area would grow significantly.

"With the whole project completed, I believe the main roads along the routes linking Jakarta and Banten will be much livelier because there will be more visitors going there," he said.

Whether it is Nusa Dua or Banten, any tourist project development -- particularly for a resort designated to offer deluxe services -- the strengths must be maintained and used to attract quality tourists, including those who are willing to pay high prices and are concerned about the physical and cultural environment of the island.

Cultural cohesion should not be sacrificed in the name of a shallow concept of cultural tourism. The focus has to remain on quality, environment and culture because the target is to grab thousands of quality visitors, not millions of mass tourists.