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Jakarta Post

RI’s ‘New Bali’ destinations struggling to catch up

The government’s target to propel the popularity of 10 selected tourist destinations will need extra efforts to be achievable, as many names on the list have been struggling to provide infrastructure and hospitality services that are on par with those at the resort island of Bali

Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, May 30, 2017

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RI’s ‘New Bali’ destinations struggling to catch up

T

he government’s target to propel the popularity of 10 selected tourist destinations will need extra efforts to be achievable, as many names on the list have been struggling to provide infrastructure and hospitality services that are on par with those at the resort island of Bali.

For example, Southeast Sulawesi’s Wakatobi, which is famous for its exotic islands and underwater scenery, has not seen any new resorts developed in the regency since last year, when it was announced as one of the government’s priority tourist destinations.

“We only have two resorts. We haven’t really seen new investments and acceleration of infrastructure [development], so the progress is so-so,” Wakatobi regional secretary Muhammad Ilyas Abibu told The Jakarta Post on Monday, on the sidelines of the signing of an agreement between regional administrations and the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry on residential utilities development.

Ilyas added that the regency only has one regular daily flight coming in from the provincial capital of Kendari, which presented a major challenge to the local administration in meeting its target to attract 20,000 local and foreign tourists this year, an 18 percent increase from 17,000 arrivals recorded in 2016.

Wakatobi, however, is not the only priority destination that is struggling to catch up with efforts to becoming the country’s “New Bali.”

Other destinations experiencing relatively slow progress in infrastructure development over the past year include Morotai Island in North Maluku, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung Islands, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java and the Thousand Islands in Jakarta.

The remaining three — Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java and Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) — have seen more rapid development as they are included in the top three of the government’s priority list.

Though refusing to call the progress slow, the central government conceded that only four destinations are located near international-standard airports, yet they are lacking international flights. These are Borobudur, Mandalika, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung Islands and Lake Toba.

“Belitung has the [HAS Hanandjoeddin] International Airport, but it still needs to have direct flights to Singapore to attract more tourists,” said Frans Teguh, the Tourism Ministry’s deputy assistant for infrastructure and ecosystem development.

Indonesia missed its target of attracting 12 million foreign tourists last year, with only 11.52 million international arrivals, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data shows.

The current administration hopes to attract 15 million travelers this year and 20 million by the end of its tenure in 2019.

Business observers have noted the disappointing growth in tourist numbers to all 10 “New Bali” destinations, blaming the slow progress in infrastructure development.

“The number of [local and foreign] tourists to all the destinations has increased, but not significantly. There are only two more years to 2019, so ministries and administrations need to work hand-in-hand, not alone,” the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA) chairman Asnawi Bahar told the Post.

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