Visited: Indonesia Year 2008

Indonesia: one of the world's most attractive destinations. In an attempt to increase the number of visitors, the 'Visit Indonesia Year 2008' program rolled out. Now, the year ends this month. How did it go?

The island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara. Photo by Djuna Ivereigh

Indonesia, with its diverse locales, unique traditions and natural beauty, is one of the world's most attractive tourism destinations. Unfortunately, even with all its potential, Indonesia is only fourth in Southeast Asia's most often-visited tourist destinations. In an attempt to increase the number of visitors, the Indonesian government promoted Indonesia through the 'Visit Indonesia Year 2008' program.

Jero Wacik, Indonesian Minister of Culture & Tourism, estimated that Indonesia’s tourism had started to recover from the previous ‘crisis’ of tourism arrivals. Photo by Ni Luh Dian Purniawati The waves off Pacitan in East Java are just two among the many beautiful places in Indonesia but of which aren’t widely promoted. Photos by Piping

The most favorite tourist destination in Indonesia is Bali. Bali's uniqueness has become known even since the times of the Dutch. Bali's tourism kept developing rapidly until the bombing incident of 2002 caused tourist arrivals to decrease by 47 %. Another decrease occurred after the second incident in 2005. But Bali didn't require long to recover, as in 2007 the increase in tourist arrivals began and the tourism sector regained its normal pace.

In 2006, the provincial government of Bali announced that Bali was awarded the Best Island Destination by Travel+Leisure in New York. It was a polling that was conducted via 30 thousand respondents. To be noted, it wasn't the first time for Bali.

This was indeed a source of pride for Indonesia. Unfortunately, the condition affirmed Bali's place but left other neighbouring island destinations far behind.

The Indonesian government then took efforts to promote tourism in the archipelago in general so that not only Bali got the world's spotlight. By the end of 2007 the Cultural and Tourism Department launched 'Visit Year (VIY) 2008'. Besides the 'even distribution' of tourism, the program also intended to increase social welfare through the tourism sector. Back in 1991 the government launched a similar program but the result was only a small increase in tourist arrivals, around 400,000 from the previous year.

"We have prepared over 100 events all over Indonesia to get more (international) tourist arrivals," said Jero Wacik, the Cultural and Tourism Minister. The year 2008 was chosen because it coincided with the centennial of the so-called 'national awakening,' which also formed the motto of the program.

In the 6th United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forum, Jero Wacik estimated that Indonesia's tourism had started to recover from the crisis. In 2004 the international tourist arrivals were 5.32 million, in 2005 it fell to 4.96 million (down 7%,) and in 2006 fell further to 4.87 million (down 2%) before rising to 5.5 million (up13%) in 2007.

In line with the 'Visit Indonesia Year 2008' program, the government optimistically targeted this year's tourist arrival levels to reach 7 million, with foreign exchange value of 6.7 billion US dollars, and in 2009 targets 8 million with a foreign exchange value of 8 billion US dollars.

As of September 2008, the Cultural & Tourism Ministry has recorded 4.5 million tourist arrivals. A third of that number is direct visits to Bali.

I Gede Pitana, the International Promotions Director of the Cultural and Tourism Ministry, stated that the number was relatively high and previously unattained.

From Indonesia's natural wealth point of view, the high arrivals count is as expected. Unfortunately, in the Southeast Asian region Indonesia only comes in fourth place in terms of arrivals. First place went to Singapore with 15 million yearly, second went to Malaysia with 10 million yearly, and third went to Thailand with 10 million.
It must be confessed that there is so much that Indonesia still needs to do. Besides a much more aggressive promotional effort, it needs much more tourism support, namely accommodations, restaurants, transportation, and infrastructure. By now, transport infrastructure in a number of tourism areas is still at a minimum and there is a shortage of professional guide services. In reality there are many potentially winning tourism destinations spread all over the archipelago that aren't even known most of the Indonesian society, due to the lack of promotional efforts.

According to Jero Wacik, only seven of the 33 provinces in Indonesia have self-supportingly and rigorously promoted their tourism, namely Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, and West Sumatra. The other areas still rely on the central government to promote their tourism.

Since 2007, the government has put up a 'stimulus' budget of Rp 25 billion to five provinces that are considered to be actively developing their tourism. As of this year, there have already been 10 that have received this monetary aid.

In 2008, the total tourism budget was Rp 1.08 trillion. Tourism promotional targets were focused at 12 main tourist markets, namely French, Dutch, British, German, Russian, Japanese, Singaporean, Australian, Korean, Malaysian, and Chinese.

The tourism industry brings a multidimensional effect that opens work fields, suppresses poverty, and becomes a local income source that supports the national economy. Its management needs the government's and private sectors integrative efforts.

This was proven not only by the dedication of the local governments to improve various tourism facilities, ease of immigration services and reliable transport, but also by the roles of the businesses that manage tourism areas and the marketing of unique local products.

"It is time for the local government to put sectoral egos aside and create breakthroughs to develop tourism. One is to develop in synergy close inter-local tourism infrastructures," said Irwan Prayitno, head of the Tenth Commission of the People's House of Representatives.

VIY 2008 is to end this month. But it doesn't mean that the various efforts in Indonesia's tourism follows suit. Gede Pitana once stated that besides the increase in tourist arrivals, another of the important effects of VIY is as stimulant for all areas in Indonesia. We may recall 'Visit Musi Year 2008'. In the beginning of 2009 'Visit Lampung Year 2010' will soon follow, together with 'Visit Babel Archie 2010' and 'Visit Manado 2010'.

Each area has carried out preparations to the maximum. It is a good sign for Indonesia's tourism. And each area has also prepared its own slogan. In one website that promotes Manado (www.visitmanado2010.com) still reads, "Coming Soon. Find The Great Place in Manado." Prepared? ■

Text by Ni Luh Dian Purniawati

Source : www.baliandbeyond.co.id

'Lithic Lore Lindu

The landscape of pristine lowland forests with its strong greenery will attract your eyes as you approach the Lore Lindu National Park. Hills nearby with hushed valleys are one of the best scenes in the park. Above all, the park boasts its mystery of the Central Sulawesi Empire with hundreds of charismatic megaliths.

The Lore Lindu National Park is situated in Central Sulawesi, and is one of Sulawesi's most important biological refuges. It contains large areas of relatively untouched terrain and varied habitats, which include lowlands and upper mountain forests, elfin woodlands, fertile valleys, rivers, lakes, and hot springs.

Megaliths at Lore Lindu are estimated to be about the same age as the Hindu/Buddhists Majapahit era. Several megaliths are similar to those found in Bali’s Pejeng with various forms of sarcophagi. It is possible that the megaliths in Lore Lindu have a connection with the megaliths in Java and Bali. The tallest megalith stands over 4 meters, but most are about 2 meters tall.

You can reach the park in about 5 hours by car from Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi. If you plan to visit the park, several home-stays with limited facilities are available, or you could also stay at a local's house in one of the villages within the park. Lore and Lindu's people are friendly with amazing cultures and traditional wisdom. Christianity is the majority religion in Lore Lindu, peacefully coexisting side by side with several Muslim villages within the park.

In 1993, the Indonesian government declared Lore Lindu a National Park with a total area of about 218,000 hectares. Lore Lindu is well known as the habitat of the Maleo bird. This bird inhabits only in the North, Central and Southeast Sulawesi Islands. This beautiful bird has striking black and white plumage with a rosy pink breast, erect tail and a bare helmeted head. If you're lucky enough, you may be able to spot this bird in its most natural habitat when hiking within the park.

Another amazing feature of Lore Lindu is not only its rich biodiversity but also its important position in relation to Central Sulawesi's history. The park has hundreds of ancient megalithic relics, mostly in the Bada, Besoa and Napu Valleys. Megaliths found in Lore Lindu, such as statues, dolmens and menhirs date back thousands of years. They are considered to be the finest stone monuments of their type in Indonesia.

The megaliths at Lore Lindu are estimated to be about the same age as the Hindu/Buddhists Majapahit era. They even have a lot of similar megaliths, such as statues, dolmens and menhirs. Several similar megaliths are those in Pejeng in Bali with their forms of sarcophagi. It is possible that the megaliths in Lore Lindu have a connection with the megaliths in Java and Bali. Various archeological studies date them as early as 3000 BC or as recently as 1300 AD. The tallest megalith stands over 4 meters, but most are about 2 meters tall.

Obviously, the hundreds that are in Lore Lindu have made the park a megalith field. That is why in 1978 UNESCO declared it a Man and Biosphere Reserve. In the mean time, the Lore and Lindu people are reserving all megaliths in full-respect for their ancestors. For a while, the local government maintained the megaliths as historical assets as well as tourist attractions.

In general, the megaliths in Lore Lindu are twisted from limestone. At the time of the Donggala Kingdom, one of the biggest empires in Central Sulawesi, most all equipment for daily life was created from limestone and some things even from metal. The King and his family's statues and giant bowls were all from limestone. The biggest human statue measured about 4 meters high, and the rest are about 1.5 meters. Each statue has a gender, and the faces are stylized human faces with eyebrows and nose in one line.

But not all megaliths can be effortlessly visited by car, sometimes you must go on foot for about an hour. Still it is worth it, since you will be able to witness the amazing megaliths with all their charisma, as well see the beautiful landscape of the park with the welcoming of the locals. For you who have no time to visit Lore Lindu National Park, you could visit the Museum in Palu. The museum has artificial replicas of all the megaliths, as well as a complete history of the Donggala Empire. You can get all the information you need about the megaliths from the professional curators.

Click here for detail.

One of the interesting stories from this area is about Tadulako. He is a Donggala hero, for he struggled along with the brave Donggala people to claim freedom from the colonial powers. At the time, the Central Sulawesi people gave full-respect to Tadulako and regarded him as their hero. The biggest university in Central Sulawesi and the main street in Palu are named after him.

As an incredible place of stunning forest biodiversity and as a marvelous megalithic field, Lore Lindu National Park needs support for its protection and conservation. It is all for the Lore and Lindu people who live in harmony with nature, as well as one of Indonesia's Kingdom heritage sites. ■

Text and photos by Marthen Welly

Source : www.baliandbeyond.co.id