North Sumatra neglects tourist sites
North Sumatra neglects tourist sites
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Head of the North Sumatra Cultural and Tourism Office, F. Ezra
Munthe, has lamented that most tourist locations in the province
are neglected due to limited budget allocations for maintenance.
Ezra cited the paltry Rp 1.165 billion (US$130,000) provided
for the care of over 100 tourist destinations in the province,
including the Community Forest Park in Deli Serdang, Laras Palace
in Asahan and Maimoon Palace in Medan, the capital of the
province.
According to Ezra, the budget is regarded as too small because
much of it is used to pay the salaries of employees.
He added that besides budgetary problems, another contributing
factor was lack of public awareness of the need to protect and
maintain the facilities at tourist sites.
"Awareness on the part of the public is still poor. Nearly all
the facilities at the tourist sites have been vandalized," said
Ezra at his office.
He explained that the number of tourist arrivals in the
province was quite significant and that better maintenance was
vital. The locations most frequently visited by foreign tourists
are Lake Toba in Simalungun, Brastagi in Karo, Bahorok in Langkat
and Nias, notable for its marine tourism.
Data shows that around 81,051 foreign tourists visited North
Sumatra in the period of January to September this year. Most of
them came from ASEAN countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore,
and also from the Netherlands.
"When compared to last year's figure of 73,440, there is
actually an increase of about 10.36 percent in tourist arrivals
this year," said Ezra.
Perceiving the tourism conditions in province to be lacking, a
North Sumatra legislative council member, Rafriandi Nasution,
surmised that officials should review the development of tourism
and culture in the province.
He said that officials handling tourism matters should put
three main things into consideration in tourism promotion;
tradition, technology and global appeal.
He explained that local cultures must be further encouraged
and exposed to the global tourism market. He cited as an example
that only certain areas held festivals to promote tourism, such
as Lake Toba's Horas, Mejuah-Juah, Rondang Bintang, Solu Bolon
and Jamu Laut festivals.
"Other cultures from various other regencies should be given a
chance," said Rafriandi.
Rafriandi was also of the opinion that tourism should be
supported by the latest technology without losing sight of
traditional values.
"This is intended to promote our culture overseas so that
Indonesia is not only influenced by foreign cultures, but it can
also give inspiration to the outside world," said Rafriandi.