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Govt to put spotlight on Sabang seas
The government has set its sights on boosting marine tourism in Sabang, Aceh, as marine tourism is expected to contribute to one-fifth of the country’s total foreign visitors by 2020
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he government has set its sights on boosting marine tourism in Sabang, Aceh, as marine tourism is expected to contribute to one-fifth of the country’s total foreign visitors by 2020.
The Sabang Free Trade Zone and Port Management Body (BPKS) noted that Sabang had potential, especially as it was a boat ride away from established marine tourist spots in Phuket, Thailand, and Langkawi, Malaysia, forming a so-called golden triangle for marine tourism and yachts.
“Sabang has massive potential. It can be a world-class maritime destination like Phuket and Langkawi,” BPKS head Sayid Fadhil said on Monday.
Sabang is home to a 20-meter-deep draft port with three terminals that can welcome yachts and large cruise ships from all over the world.
It is also listed as one of the country’s main gates for cruise and yacht ships, as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 105/2015.
He said Sabang’s specialty was its scenic natural wonders, with popular destinations such as Sarang Cave and Pria Laot Waterfall, which have succeeded in attracting foreign tourists.
Last year alone, BPKS noted that there were 84 ports of call — a stop made by a ship during its journey — by yachts in 2017, a 58.4 percent increase from 53 calls in 2016.
Ports of call made by cruise ships were much lower, with three calls made last year, a decline from 11 calls in 2016. However, there have been six cruise calls in 2018 thus far, including by MS Seabourn Encore, a ship from Washington-based ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn Cruise Line.
Domestic tourists to the city have steadily increased over the years. However, the number of foreign tourists to Sabang in 2017 was 6,032, a considerable drop from 2016 at 10,038, although still higher than the 5,582 visits in 2015.
By 2019, the city hopes to attract more than 38,000 foreign tourists.
One way to do so is through the city’s annual Sabang Marine Festival, which will start late this month.
The festival offers a cruise experience in the Sabang-Phuket-Langkawi golden triangle.
According to the BPKS, the festival saw a gradual increase in participation from yacht aficionados, with 23 yachts participating in 2017 from 20 yachts in 2016. This year, the government hopes to bring in more than 20 yachts for the event.
The participants came from, among other countries, the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, the Philippines and Spain.
The BPKS also invited yacht enthusiasts from Langkawi and Pangkor in Malaysia through a road show early in April and set up a one-stop office to handle permits related to immigration, customs and other necessary documents.
The event is a follow-up to Sail Sabang, a marine tourist event held last December.
“In the future, we want to build a presidential palace nearby the [Sabang} 0 kilometer area [to attract tourists]. We have prepared five hectares of land,” Sayid said, without elaborating on the details of the plan.
The head of the national marine tourism development acceleration team, Dwisuryo Indroyono Soesilo, said Sabang should add more destinations to encourage tourists on yacht and cruise ships to stay longer in the city.
The government’s previous deregulation efforts were expected to help attract tourists who sail in on yachts and cruise ships, he added.
In 2015, the government deregulated the Clearance Approval for Indonesian Territory (CAIT) requirement for yachts, which is expected to increase yacht visits to 5,000 in 2019 from 750 in 2014.
Indonesia is reported to have welcomed 2,000 yachts last year alone.
It also allowed foreign-flagged cruise ships to bring in and drop off passengers at five major ports, including Benoa Port in Bali and Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta.
Moving forward, the government aims to generate US$4 billion from marine tourism from a total $20 billion it hopes to generate from the entire tourism industry in 2019.
