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Sinabung eruptions spell gloomy future for resort area
The tourist industry in Berastagi, Karo regency, North Sumatra, is struggling to survive, with sporadic volcanic activity at nearby Mount Sinabung over the past five years keeping visitors away from the resort town
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he tourist industry in Berastagi, Karo regency, North Sumatra, is struggling to survive, with sporadic volcanic activity at nearby Mount Sinabung over the past five years keeping visitors away from the resort town.
The head of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association's (PHRI) Karo branch, Edi Sofyan, said a series of eruptions of Mt. Sinabung since 2010 had significantly reduced the number of tourists visiting Berastagi, located 30 kilometers from the volcano.
'Compared with five years ago, the number of tourists has declined by at least 20 percent. This is a major blow for the tourist industry in Karo,' Edi told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Mt. Sinabung, standing at 2,460 meters, was inactive for centuries before erupting in August 2010. Three years later, it erupted again and has never entirely stopped since then, with people living near the volcano forced to be constantly prepared for evacuation should volcanic activity escalate suddenly.
The eruptions have also claimed more than a dozen lives and destroyed thousands of houses and hectares of farmland.
Mt. Sinabung has erupted several times this year and since June 2, authorities have kept the alert status of the volcano at Level 4, the highest level.
The latest eruptions on Saturday morning, Edi said, had significantly affected tourist activity in Berastagi, with the city enveloped by thick haze for several hours.
'On weekends, hotel rooms in Berastagi are usually fully occupied. This weekend, however, most hotels reported that they had only rented out between five and 10 rooms,'
he said.
Even after the intensity of the haze declined after 3 p.m. on Saturday, few visitors were seen at the area's markets and shops.
'The volcanic ash is still visible everywhere in the city. Tourists must be reluctant to come here, as their health could be affected,' remarked Susanto Ginting, a local resident.
Berastagi, located some 65 km southwest of Medan, is home to 40,000 residents.
A recent survey jointly held by the PHRI's Karo branch and the Karo Manpower Agency meanwhile revealed that daily income per capita in the regency had dropped from Rp 90,000 (US$6.2) in 2010 to Rp 70,000 earlier this year.
