Yacht Rally Marks Tourism Push for Aceh’s Sabang

Yacht Rally Marks Tourism Push for Aceh’s Sabang

Sabang in Aceh will play host to an international yacht rally this month, as part of a government campaign to promote the country’s westernmost city as a marine tourism destination.

Sapta Nirwandar, director general of promotions at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the Indonesian Sailing Federation was staging the first Sabang International Regatta, from Sept. 15-25.

Participants will cover more than 500 kilometers, sailing across the Malacca Strait from Malaysia’s Langkawi Island and finishing at Sabang’s Weh Island.

“We want to use the Sabang International Regatta 2011 to introduce Sabang to the world as a marine destination in the western part of Indonesia,” Sapta said.

“Sabang Port is interesting for foreign tourists. There are many international cruise ships that stop there to see the beauty of Weh Island, which has become a center of marine tourism in western Indonesia.”

Sabang was one of the areas most devastated by the tsunami that hit Aceh in 2004. Firmansyah Rahim, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s director general of destination development, said the city had rebuilt its infrastructure to support tourism.

“We are trying to develop interesting travel packages to promote the region. It has lots of potential, with many dive spots,” he said.

Sabang, Firmansyah said, is being developed as one of 18 planned stopping points in Indonesia for luxury yachts.

Munawar Liza Zainal, the mayor of Sabang, said they needed more investment to develop the natural beauty of the city, both underwater and on land.

According to Munawar, there are about 400 hotel rooms in Sabang but no hotel has earned even a one-star rating.

“Hotels are all managed by locals. It is because we do not have any big investors yet after the 2004 tsunami,” he said.

To improve tourism in Sabang, “we have to provide comfortable and charming accommodation and a clean and tidy environment,” the mayor said.

There are lots of economic selling points in Sabang for travelers and potential investors, Munawar said.

“Unlike other districts, Sabang issues business permits itself so investors do not have to try to get them from the central government,” he said.

“Sabang is also a duty-free island where we do not impose a luxury tax.”

7Wonders Saga Has Ministry Rethinking Strategy

7Wonders Saga Has Ministry Rethinking Strategy

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Thursday that the New7Wonders of Nature debacle had taught it a very valuable lesson — to conduct a thorough screening of partners that it intended to work with in the future.

The New7Wonders foundation is running an online vote to name the new seven natural wonders of the world. Komodo Island National Park is Indonesia’s entrant.

Indonesia and the foundation have become embroiled in a dispute following the foundation’s allegations that the Ministry had reneged on its commitment to host an event to announce the competition’s winners.

The Ministry, however, said that there had been no agreement signed on the matter and that the foundation was asking for too much to hold the ceremony.

New7Wonders has stated that the Tourism Ministry is no longer allowed to officially support the park’s campaign because it had failed to meet its obligations.

The Ministry said they were scratched from the list because the foundation insisted that Indonesia pay $10 million in licensing fees and Rp 420 billion ($47 million) to host the ceremony. New7Wonders has denied such claims, saying the government’s only commitment was $10 million to support the private group organizing the ceremony.

Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer representing the ministry, said it was still mulling legal action against the foundation.

“We want to give them a lesson that as a foundation that attracts worldwide attention, they need to be fair with participants of the competition,” Todung said. “That the Ministry was removed after we refused to pay the millions of dollars must be questioned.

“We have sent them letters and they bounced back to us,” he added. “What kind of organization has no exact address that we can contact?”

Despite the controversy, Todung said, what really mattered was that Komodo Island received the attention it deserved.

Nia Niscaya, the ministry’s director of conventions, said it had only signed a Standard Participation Agreement with the foundation, which did not contain specifics on the matter of payment.

“They had told us that in order to host the award ceremony, we would have to pay a licensing fee of $7 million,” she said. “Suddenly, we were informed it had gone up to $10 million.”

Ministry to Sue New7Wonders Over Komodo Snub

Ministry to Sue New7Wonders Over Komodo Snub

The Culture and Tourism Ministry will sue the organizers of the New 7Wonders of Nature competition for removing it as the Komodo National Park’s official backer in the competition, a lawyer said on Wednesday.

Todung Mulya Lubis, representing the ministry in the suit, said the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation acted unfairly in dropping the ministry as the park’s official supporter. “It’s unfair because it was the ministry that first registered Komodo for the competition and signed the standard participation agreement,” Todung told the Jakarta Globe. “Therefore, we want them to reinstate the ministry as the official supporting organization.”

On Monday, New7Wonders said the ministry would no longer be allowed to officially support the park’s campaign because it had failed to meet its obligations.

In a statement posted on the foundation’s Web site, New7Wonders president Bernard Weber said the ministry had to be dropped in order to keep the national park in the contest.

“In the case of Komodo, the evidence clearly points to the unsuitability of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as our authorized New7Wonders Official Supporting Committee,” he said.

The ministry also failed to meet requirements in its bid to host the awards ceremony for the competition’s winning entries later this year. However, Todung said it had never signed an agreement to host the ceremony, adding that Komodo’s participation in the New7Wonders campaign and Indonesia’s willingness to host the awards ceremony were two different things.

“Their decision to drop the ministry as the official supporting committee is an attempt to discredit Indonesia’s government and has no legal basis,” he said.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said the legal action against New7Wonders “to uphold Indonesia’s reputation.”

He added that he had never signed a contract with the foundation that would oblige the government to pay $10 million in licensing fees and Rp 420 billion ($47 million) to host the ceremony.

However, New7Wonders has denied asking for the latter sum, saying the government’s only commitment if it wanted to support the private consortium organizing the ceremony was around $10 million.

Komodo Remains in 7Wonders Competition

Komodo Remains in 7Wonders Competition

The foundation that launched the New7Wonders of Nature competition announced on Monday that Komodo National Park in the Sunda Islands would remain in the running despite earlier threats to drop it.

However, the foundation said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism would no longer be allowed to act as the supporting committee for the park’s campaign.

The ministry had failed to meet several obligations as the park’s backer, prompting tensions with the New7Wonders team. The ministry also failed to meet requirements in its bid to host the declaration ceremony for the competition’s winning entries later this year.

New7Wonders president Bernard Weber said in a statement on the foundation’s Web site that the ministry had to be dropped in order to keep the national park in contention.

“In the case of Komodo, the evidence clearly points to the unsuitability of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as our authorized New7Wonders Official Supporting Committee,” he said.

“Therefore, this status is revoked with immediate effect. This removal allows us to keep Komodo in the campaign.”

Weber said his organization refrained from a complete withdrawal after receiving “numerous and encouraging requests” to keep Komodo in the contest.

Nia Niscaya, the ministry’s director of conventions, declined to comment on the statement. “We’ll discuss with our lawyers how to respond,” Nia said on Monday

Ministry Report Pushes Bali Governor to Consider Construction Moratorium

Ministry Report Pushes Bali Governor to Consider Construction Moratorium

Elisabeth Oktofani & Made Arya Kencana

Denpasar. The Bali governor is considering imposing a moratorium on hotel development in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar to balance tourism development in the island.

Made Mangku Pastika said on Wednesday that he had received the assessment report done by the Tourism Ministry’s team, which stated there is an oversupply of hotel rooms in the island’s main tourist destinations.

“It is recommended that there should be no more hotel investment in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar until 2015.

Instead, the hotel investments would better be directed to areas such as Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem and Jembrana,” he said.

However, the introduction of the moratorium must be first consulted with the island’s regent chiefs. Pastika said that, under the Autonomy Law, the regent chiefs are the ones authorized to issue building permits, not the provincial government.

Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, chairman of Bali Tourism Board, said South Bali has been the major destination for tourists because other parts of Bali are lacking in infrastructure.

“To bring tourists to another part of Bali, the government needs to build and improve the infrastructure, especially the access road,” he said.

Wijaya agreed with the idea of imposing a moratorium on the construction of new hotels in South Bali, but he said the plan is likely to present problems for the economy.

“As regional autonomy is implemented in the province and the regional government depends on the regional income, it might be difficult to stop giving permits to the investors because the tourism business has been the major [source of income] for the local government,” he said.

Provincial spokesman Ketut Teneng said he had not yet received a copy of the report done by the tourism ministry’s assessment team.

However, Teneng said the call for a development moratorium would be seriously considered.

He also called on tourism industry authorities in Bali to do their own assessment, which can serve as a supporting document during the deliberations on the moratorium issue.

According to the ministry’s assessment team, Bali currently has 55,000 hotel rooms which is 9,800 more of the ideal number of rooms.

I Gede Pitana Brahmananda, the head of the ministry’s Culture and Tourism Resources Unit, said if the governor fails to issue a regulation stopping hotel construction, Bali will eventually suffer from overdevelopment.

“The governor needs to issue the regulation as soon as possible because if they do not issue it, they cannot stop investors from building hotels in Bali,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, the Gianyar regent chief, said the moratorium should be implemented selectively in order to avoid unhealthy competition among local investors.

He suggested that only developers that plan to impose accommodation rates at $1,000 (Rp 9 million) per night or more should be allowed to proceed with building new hotels.

“There are already thousands of rooms within the price range of $100 - $500 per night,” he said, adding that the island should now focus on attracting high spenders in order to promote a more exclusive image of Bali tourism.

Ministry Eyes 7.5m Tourists Going Beyond Jakarta, Bali

Ministry Eyes 7.5m Tourists Going Beyond Jakarta, Bali

Indonesia will strive to promote destinations in the country other than overcrowded Bali and Jakarta to help achieve its target of 7.5 million foreign visitors this year, a Tourism Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Gusti Ngurah Putra said the government would promote the country as an ecological and cultural destination, as well as a MICE venue — an industry term referring to meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

In terms of MICE, Putra said Yogyakarta, Padang, Solo, Manado and Bangka-Belitung would be promoted as alternatives to Jakarta and Bali.

“For the two Asean Summits, which will be held in April and October, we will prepare Jakarta and Bali as the locations because the standard of facilities needed for heads of state are only available in those two areas,” Putra said. “However, there are approximately 600 international events that will be held all over Indonesia in 2011.”

He said the opening of more international airports this year, such as the Lombok airport in Mataram, would also help in reaching the 7.5 million goal — half a million more than last year’s target.

“We now have 17 international airports all over Indonesia,” he said. “It would really help the distribution of tourists as well as the development of tourism in several places that have cultural and natural attractions.”

The expectation was that several international entry points would lead to an increase in demand for tourism facilities such as hotels and restaurants.

But Putra added that the government was keen to ensure the ensuing tourism development was eco-friendly. A new destination management system, he said, would be employed by the ministry to this end.

“This means a complete development that involves many sectors, so that tourism development is not just about business but will not destroy the ecosystem and harm the society,” he said.

This system, he said, was successfully implemented in the last two years in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, where the Komodo National Park is located.

“We built an access road to Komodo National Park from Labuhan Bajo with funding from the Switzerland government, making it easier for tourists to go there,” he said.

“Moving forward, we have a complete development plan for the tourism sector in Flores that will benefit both the society and tourists.”

This year, he added, Indonesian tourism development would be pro-growth, pro-job, pro-poor and pro-environment.

Unesco Takes Note of Indonesia's Angklung, Grants it Cultural Heritage Title

Unesco Takes Note of Indonesia's Angklung, Grants it Cultural Heritage Title

Jakarta. Angklung, the traditional West Java musical instrument made from bamboo, has been included in Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

The instrument was among 46 items from 21 countries inscribed to the list at the Fifth Unesco Inter-Governmental Committee meeting on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nairobi, Kenya.

The angklung now joins the wayang (the Javanese shadow puppet theater), the kris (the Javanese ceremonial dagger) and batik among the Indonesian representatives in the list.

I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the government welcomed the recognition granted by Unesco.

“The reason the angklung was inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is because it has deep philosophical values for humanity, such as cooperation, respect and social harmony,” he said.

“Because to produce music with angklung requires good cooperation among the angklung players, as no melody can be played by a single player.”

Masanori Nagaoka, the culture program specialist at Unesco’s Jakarta office, said it was hoped the recognition would lead to greater awareness of angklung and its traditions.

“Being recognized by Unesco on the list ensures better visibility for the intangible cultural heritage and raises awareness of its importance, while encouraging dialogue that respects cultural diversity,” he said.

Each angklung is made with two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame.

It plays only one specific note, which is produced by shaking the instrument rapidly from side to side.

During the height of the Sunda Kingdom, when much of Indonesia was still Hindu, it was used to signal prayer times. Later on it was used by the Sundanese to boost morale, and was banned by the Dutch colonial masters.

That effectively relegated it to a children’s toy.

In the 20th century, the angklung was adopted by several other countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

These were variations of the original, with the Thai angklung, for instance, using three bamboo tubes instead of two.

In addition to the four items Indonesia now boasts on the list of intangible cultural heritage, the country also has seven sites on Unesco’s list of world heritage sites.

Three of them — the Borobudur monument, the Prambanan temple complex and the Sangiran Early man site, all in Central Java — are on the list of world cultural heritage. The other four — the Komodo, Lorentz and Ujung Kulon national parks, as well as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra — are listed as world natural heritage.

“We’re now working on getting the Acehnese Saman Dance to be recognized as intangible cultural heritage,” Putra said.

“We’re going to work hard to have as much of our culture as possible recognized by Unesco, the main point being to get the rest of the world involved in preserving our culture.”

He said the government also wanted recognition of Indonesian culture to prevent other countries from laying claim to it.

The government earlier this year promoted the angklung by inscribing it on the back of the new Rp 1,000 coin, which was introduced in April