Biak's tourist heyday: A story of the glory days in the past
Biak's tourist heyday: A story of the glory days in the past
By Zita Meirina
BIAK, Irian Jaya (Antara): From aboard the aircraft
approaching Frans Kasiepo Airport, the sprawling islands dotting
a clear blue ocean are colorful, almost like rainbows.
The beautiful panorama can briefly be enjoyed before the
aircraft lands on Biak Island, whose main town bears the same
name.
A stroll along the clean, quiet, traffic jam-free streets of
the small town of Biak will tempt visitors to explore the entire
beautiful island.
Not so long ago Biak was not as quiet as it is today. Local
man, Ayer, said the island once was crowded with foreign
tourists.
"We had an international airport that made Biak attractive to
foreign vacationers," said Ayer, who works as a driver in a
private company belonging to the Djayanti Group.
He said local residents earned benefits by renting their
houses, selling food or offering other services to the tourists.
The foreigners came to Biak to enjoy its natural beauty, a
quality which made the island one of Irian Jaya's main tourist
destinations.
"The rich marine ecosystem and the landscape have a high
selling point that make Biak once comparable to other tourist
destinations in the country," said John Diaz, head of Biak's
tourist agency.
Biak began losing foreign tourists five years ago when
national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia discontinued its flight
from Jakarta to Los Angeles via Biak.
Although there is no official data on foreign tourist arrivals
in Biak, Sitepu, who runs the Grand Irian Tour travel bureau, is
convinced the absence of foreign visitors is connected to the
termination of the international flight service.
"The flight stoppage brought on severe problems for
entrepreneurs who invested a lot of money in the tourist business
both here and in Jayapura," he said.
Hotels built during the heyday of tourism are losing money
because of intolerably low occupancy rates. Many of them are
falling into disrepair.
Hoteliers are worried there is no likelihood of a turnaround
in the future.
"I am lucky if five or six guests stay here. Some hotels
depend for their income on sources other than rooms, such as pubs
or karaoke lounges," the hotel owner said.
Biak and the other islands around it enjoyed booming benefits
from tourism until 1994.
The island located to the north of the Irian mainland was a
haven for divers and nature lovers from Europe, the United
States, Australia and Japan.
Diaz identified many more attractions on offer. One of them is
its beaches where people can watch omnipresent turtles lay eggs.
The gorgeous and a great variety of seafood also are great
attractions.
Biak gained international popularity as a tourist destination
in 1987 when Garuda Indonesia opened the Jakarta-Los Angeles
route via Biak. International tourists came in droves.
"Many tourists fell in love at first sight with Biak's
unspoiled natural beauty," Diaz said.
He said most tourists stayed for more than a week, which
allowed local people to set up accommodation and transportation
businesses.
Biak is accessible by both air and sea. Foreign tourists who
loved traveling around from Biak to nearby islands would use the
Tropical Princess, a cruiser belonging to an Indonesian
businessman.
"Tropical Princes enhanced Biak's image as favorite tourism
destination for affluent tourists," Diaz said.
The blooming tourist business in Biak enhanced Irian Jaya's
image as a tourist destination. Many investors came to do
business in the sector.
"In Biak, budget inns and star-rated hotels sprang up during
the heyday," said a restaurant owner.
A lack of professionalism has always hampered development of
the tourism sector in Irian Jaya. Fortunately, an observer said,
tourists understand the problem and they can forgive the poor
hotel services and enjoy the sun, sea and the forests.
A travel bureau owner, Sitepu, recounted the glorious days of
Biak's tourism industry, "When Garuda still operated its Jakarta-
Los Angeles route, we usually served between 50 and 100 foreign
tourists every month."
Today, the bureau is lucky if it arranges tours for 10 foreign
tourists a month, he added. For a tour either in Jayapura or Biak
and its nearby islands, Grand Irian Tour offers a US$40 per day
per person package. "The price is still the same now," Sitepu
said.
"The natural beauty of the Biak islands is still the same as
it was five or six years ago, but there's something different,
now, there's no more investors wanting to come here," Diaz said.
He blamed a campaign sponsored by environmentalists which told
people all over the world not to visit Biak in protest at the
unchecked fish bombing in the area.
Diaz attributed the environmentally destructive fishing method
to Hong Kong companies which collaborated with Indonesian
enterprises. He alleged that Greenpeace was behind the move to
boycott Biak.
"The impact of the campaign on the tourist industry was
disastrous. Tropical Princess went bankrupt, too," Diaz said.
Investments worth billions of dollars to build hotels and
restaurants and deep sea recreational facilities have been left
high and dry.
Ninety percent of the rooms at Hotel Biak Marow, the only
star-rated hotel in Biak built atop a cliff facing the sea, are
unoccupied. Its "For Sale" sign outside is shared by many upscale
restaurants which have bar and karaoke facilities.