Taman Mini invites new provinces to establish their own pavilions
Taman Mini invites new provinces to establish their own pavilions
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The management of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah has invited newly
established provinces to set up pavilions in the park so that all
the country's provinces are represented there.
"We warmly welcome the new provinces to build their pavilions
here. But such an initiative should come from the local
administrations; our task is only to facilitate," Masud Toyib,
the park manager for art, culture and tourist affairs, said last
Saturday.
Four new provinces, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Gorontalo and
North Maluku, which were established after the fall of Soeharto,
are not yet represented in the park, which was developed by the
former first lady Ibu Tien Soeharto's Harapan Kita Foundation in
1975.
The park, which is now under control of the state secretariat,
was designed as a miniature of the Indonesian archipelago and
functions as a cultural park for all its provinces.
According to Masud, only the province of Banten has expressed
serious interest in establishing a pavilion in the park.
When the park was established, all 26 provinces had pavilions
there. All of them are managed by the respective provinces.
The East Timor pavilion was established in 1980, but is now
under the control of the Taman Mini management following the
referendum in 1999 when the majority of the East Timorese voted
for an independent state.
Masud said the presence of regional pavilions was not only
aimed at attracting tourists to the park, but also an effective
place to promote each region to both local and foreign tourists.
During the Soeharto era, various facilities were developed in
the park. They include cable cars, paddleboats, Imax movies and
various kinds of parks and museums. But after his fall, there has
been no significant physical development in the park.
Masud said the park received its revenue mainly from selling
tickets at the main entrance, because most of the tourist
facilities inside the park had not yet contributed significantly
to its income.
"Only a few of the 17 museums and parks here are able to cover
their own daily operational costs," he said.