Banten follows Nusa Dua way to build quality tourist sites
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.