T

he government will implement an immediate recovery plan to rebuild and promote the Tanjung Lesung tourist destination devastated by the Dec. 22 tsunami, despite warnings from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry that Anak Krakatau has shown increased activity.

The Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation issued a code red warning for Anak Krakatau on Thursday, citing continued eruptions and ash emissions, with ash clouds reaching up to 7,338 meters above sea level and moving in a northeasterly direction. Various experts have also warned of the possibility of another tsunami in the area.

Nevertheless, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said on Thursday that the recovery program would focus on three main activities, which would include the rehabilitation of the people affected by the disaster, reconstruction of facilities and efforts to promote the area as a safe place to visit.

“The initial program will be carried out during the 14-day emergency response period. A trauma healing program will be implemented, particularly for locals and business actors in the tourist destination,” Arief said in a statement.

The minister also stated that the government would involve banks to help owners of hotels rebuild their accommodation facilities.

Arief said the ministry would invite all ministries and institutions to hold events in tourist destinations at Sunda Strait beaches, particularly those located in Pandeglang and Serang in Banten, to convince people that the areas are safe to visit.

“I will invite all ministries and institutions to hold events here. Our ministry will be the first to do it, early next month in Anyer, which was severely affected by the tsunami,” he said.

Arief expressed hope that the recovery of tourism at Sunda Strait beaches would take no longer than three months, like that in Lombok, which was hit by a strong earthquake in August.

Tanjung Lesung, which is situated in the coastal area in Pandeglang, was assigned special economic zone (SEZ) status in 2012 and was the first tourism-based SEZ that began operations in Indonesia in 2015. The development of tourism facilities in the area was further accelerated by the government as it designated Tanjung Lesung as one of the “10 new Balis” in an effort to diversify tourist destinations aside from the world-renowned resort island of Bali.

The developer of the Tanjung Lesung SEZ separately said it would focus on implementing disaster mitigation standards as mitigation measures of future disasters that may strike the area.

Chairman of publicly listed property developer Jababeka Group Setyono Djuandi Darmono, the subsidiary of which, PT Banten West java Tourism Development Corporation (BWJ), is the developer and manager of the Tanjung Lesung SEZ, said the firm would prepare standardized measures when any disaster hit the SEZ.

“We will prepare and train the workers [in Tanjung Lesung SEZ] as well as visitors [in case of any emergency caused by natural disasters],” said Darmono after a meeting with Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, who also chairs the SEZ national council, at the latter’s office in Jakarta on Thursday.

At least 430 people were killed and many buildings, including hotels, were destroyed when the tsunami struck, which was reportedly triggered by a massive landslide at Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait.

He said the disaster affected only around an 8-hectare area in Tanjung Lesung SEZ. He estimated that it would take around Rp 150 billion (US$10.3 million) to rebuild the damaged hotels after the tsunami.

The Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) said it hoped that after the tsunami the government would accelerate infrastructure development in Tanjung Lesung so that it would not be left behind by other new destinations.

He said many tourists had canceled their visits following the tsunami, which had devastated many hotels and cottages. (das)