Ensure our piece of paradise is not forgotten

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 10/08/2007 8:30 AM  |  Opinion

Tri Pujanarto, Yogyakarta

Back in the 1970s we were constantly reminded of how blessed we were, living in the land of gods, the gems of the equator, the land of spices, the ultimate tropical paradise.

A vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and the second longest shoreline in the world, Indonesia has more white sand beaches, more living tropical reefs and friendly waves than probably any other country.

Diamonds are forever, but unpolished gemstones look no different than ordinary pebbles, shells and debris swept ashore.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) projected Thailand and Malaysia as among the major beneficiaries of tourism growth in the Asia Pacific area between 2007 and 2009, each with US$13 billion and close to $11 billion increases in tourism revenue.

In the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007 by the World Economic Forum, Singapore ranked 8th to become the only Southeast Asian country in the top 20.

Where does that leaves Indonesia? The Ministry of Culture and Tourism expects to net 6 million foreign visitors in 2007, pale in comparison with Malaysia 20.1, Thailand 14.8 and even the tiny city-state of Singapore with 10.2 million visitors.

Apart from the government's more formal approach, we are seeing more surges in private members-only styles of niche tourism in Indonesia. Various kinds of spiritual, cultural, adventure and culinary tourism have recently sprouted all over Indonesia-- many of them owned and or operated at least partly by foreigners.

Designed to attract specific market segments, or deep wallets, they have their own ways around the government's restrictions on exclusivity. Take a batik museum in Java for instance; there is no big banner or wide-paved-entry from the main road. Most onlookers will mistake the tiny sign for the direction to the village hall or something.

To preserve the hundreds-of-years-old batik textiles, limiting visitors is a must. But then, not everybody is prepared to dig $20 for a lunch break in the museum's restaurant. In 2000, local villagers protested the museum for lack of legality, exclusivity, and arrogance.

For a more extreme example, imagine a beach resort somewhere in Sumatra northern coast, with white sand, coral reef and lazy waves. To get there, you can grab a ferry or helicopter from Singapore. Unless you have a tough 4X4 SUV, ready to beat the bush and willing to be greeted by forest rangers, land travel from the Indonesian mainland is out of question.

And once you get there, be prepared that almost all Indonesians you see will be wearing receptionist, waiter/waitress, cook, housekeeping, or janitor uniforms.

Further down the coast line, you will see many locals in sarongs and night gowns hang around fallen coconut trees, admiring the view of cheerful tourists in bikinis from afar. Modest, plain people, living in raised houses from bamboo poles, wood planks and thatched roof, their wildest dream would be sending their daughters or sons to work over the fortress white wall.

Exclusivity in tourism draws disconnection, rejections, ignorance, and apathy from local people, but the reality drives us in that direction. The shameful experiences in mass tourism should have taught us a lot.

Take a walk in Kuta, Sanur, or other places of interests in Indonesia. Street vendors keep offering you mats, massages, beads, escorts, and any other imaginable merchandise no matter how many times you shake your head. Somebody offers you a $20 bone figurine that you could pick up for $5 apiece in any nearby art shops. Even if you wear a big sign ""Not buy!"" on your chest, they will still come at you.

You stretch your legs in the soft sand to let go the pressures at work, and many little heads keep popping on your sides. The brave ones will pour ointment and squeeze your limbs before asking. Call that aggressive marketing, but that does not work any more.

Everybody needs and have the right to a certain degree of privacy -- and the freedom to choose their own version of leisure. Developing tourism requires a lot more than good regulations, products and promotions. Along with all the technical and administrative issues, educating local people is of the utmost importance. Our foreign visitors should feel secure and comfortable in Indonesia and among Indonesians.

Let the guests and hosts interact with mutual respect and admiration, enriching each others' living heritage. Lord Baden Powell taught us to kick the ""im"" from the word impossible, but it is indeed a very daunting task for any modern government.

If true tourism is one of the best things Indonesia can offer, and benefit from, then it should spend more than Rp 50 billion in community development -- as proposed by the Directorate General of Marketing, Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Teach tourism and hospitality, and more importantly the Indonesian culture and heritage in every classroom, in communal gatherings and local events, create and promote the awareness in multitudes of media currently available.

Lead the whole nation to believe and commit to there being more to life -- attracting tourists in particular -- than security, discipline and cleanliness. Culture and tourism are closely intertwined.

Margaret Mead's definition of culture is the whole complex of traditional behavior which has been developed by the human race and is successively learned by each generation. An otherwise clean-cut, preserved package of arts and culture are good for museum displays, but real people including Indonesians themselves also need to see and feel the real living heritage of Indonesia.

Do that, and Indonesia will gross not only $5.9 billion in tourism, but it will become a nation in progress, with a proud past and a promising future.

In this internet age we can easily buy tropical trees, white sand and ocean barriers to create a beautiful artificial beach, but it will never beat the enchanting smiles of the indigenous, their captivating dances and rhythms of life.

Indonesia is very rich in history, culture, the arts, exotic natural landscapes and breathtaking views. If Indonesians cannot tend those magnificent treasures on their own, others will.

The writer is a graduate of computer engineering with an interest in local/global issues.

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