MONTPELIER – In a bittersweet ending to the drive to compete internationally as a tourism destination, Vermont’s downtowns lost out to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in competition at the World Travel & Tourism Council on Friday in Lisbon, Portugal.
“I would say (competing was) wonderful exposure for the state and since this is an international competition, it puts Vermont on the map,” said Erica Housekeeper, director of communications for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing.
Bruce Hyde, the department’s commissioner, traveled to the 7th Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Lisbon to represent Vermont as one of three finalists in the “destination” category.
The announcement marked the end of a three-step process that began with an extensive application, entering Vermont’s 22 designated downtowns. On the list were Montpelier, Barre and Rutland. That effort landed the Green Mountain state in the final running.
The second step was a site visit by a WTTC representative in February, the results of which were reviewed by a panel of judges who made the final call.
“Being a finalist is an honor in itself and we’re thrilled about that,” Housekeeper said. “And I think the WTTC recognized Vermont’s commitment to preserving and enhancing the vitality of our downtowns.”
The award – one of a package known to insiders as “the Oscars of the tourism industry” –recognizes “responsible tourism,” which is defined by such qualities as the walkability of downtowns, revitalization projects and cooperation between town agencies.
The application was submitted by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing and the downtown program in December for the first time since the inception of the award three years ago. It included questions about impact on the natural environment, natural and cultural preservation efforts, educating visitors and impact on the local economy.
The Downtown Program has been working since 1994 to revitalize downtown economies and has 22 Vermont downtowns registered including Montpelier, Barre, Rutland, Randolph, Waterbury and Burlington.
The effect the Downtown Program has had on Vermont’s economy is exemplified by statistics that were included in the initial application for the award: “Statewide, the meals, rooms, and alcohol receipts for the time period of 2000-2005 increased by 16.5 percent while the average growth for communities in the downtown program was 22 percent.”
Vermont was chosen as a finalist out of 130 applications from 40 countries.
There were four categories with three finalists each. For the Destination Award, Vermont’s downtowns were up against the Greenbox, Ireland, in addition to Australia.
The Aspen Skiing Company won the Conservation Award; the Nihiwatu resort in Indonesia won the Investor in People Award; and Lindblad Expeditions, USA and global, won the Global Tourism Business Award.
The WTTC awards were sponsored by media businesses such as National Geographic Adventure, Newsweek, The Travel Channel and BBC World.
Housekeeper said she didn’t know if Vermont would enter next year’s competition, but said the overall experience was a good one.
“We received a lot of media coverage, which was great, and it reminded Vermonters too about how great our downtowns are for visitors and Vermonters,” she said.
Contact Daphne Larkin at daphne.larkin@timesargus.com.
By Daphne Larkin Times Argus Staff
May 18th, 2007
These days, the scent of roses and burning incense permeates the interior of Jogja Gallery.
The gallery’s latest visual art exhibition, The Thousand Mysteries of Borobodur, is all about recreating the mystique that surrounds the world heritage monument — the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
In the middle of the exhibition room sits the ancient Unfinished Buddha statue, from inside the temple’s main stupa. It is here in front of the statue that the pungent odor of flowers and smoke originates.
“We just wanted to show respect to the Unfinished Buddha while it’s here. This is how the statue was treated when it was at the Karmawibangga Museum at the temple,” exhibition curator Mikke Susanto told The Jakarta Post.
The exhibition, which opened officially on April 20 and will run through May 9, boasts some 50 visual artworks on display.
The works range from ancient 8th-century creations, such as the Unfinished Buddha and the egg-sized stupa Stupica, to contemporary comics and videos.
“Through the exhibition we want to create a forum for interpretative dialog about Borobudur, using visual art as the medium for revealing the mysteries surrounding the temple,” said Mikke, adding that the exhibition was also intended to be a meeting point for classical and modern works of art.
“That way, we are also trying to describe the development of visual art in Indonesia, from an ancient statue like the Unfinished Buddha, to a very contemporary one like Sebuah Pencapaian (An Achievement), both of which depict the same subject, the Buddha,” Mikke said.
The ancient statue of Buddha, which was discovered during the first restoration of Borobudur Temple in the early 20th century, is also known locally as Mbah Belet. The statue is believed by many to possess supernatural powers.
“Even in the present, the statue continues to be surrounded by mystery. No written record of it has been found so far. No one can tell us about its existence… about who made it, about why it was inside the main stupa when it was first found, and why it was unfinished,” Mikke said.
Sebuah Pencapaian is an installation by Magelang-born artist Ismanto, 39. The installation depicts how the mysterious, inner energy of Borobudur Temple has shaped it into a beautiful structure.
The work, an arrangement of flat stones into the shape of a cone topped with a sculpted Buddha’s head, also won the competition held between Feb. 1 and March 5 to select contemporary works for the exhibition.
The organizing committee selected 20 works from the competition, which was jointly organized by Jogja Gallery, the Jakarta Office of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
“We received a total of 360 works by 170 artists from across Indonesia,” said Mikke, adding that the program was also held in cooperation with state-owned PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur-Prambanan-Ratu Boko, Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University and the Borobudur Center Foundation.
Five of the 20 paintings, photographs, installations, sculptures, graphics and videos that made the short-list were selected as winners at the competition.
The other winners are Mengikat Pondasi Sebuah Peradaban (Heri Purwanto, Yogyakarta), Batu di Atas Batu (Toni Ja’far, Pasuruan, East Java), Filosofi yang Membatu (Riduan, Yogyakarta), and Panji Cakrawala (I Made Supena, Bali).
Mikke said the exhibition moved beyond the so-called conventional fine arts of paintings and statues to other modern forms such as sketches, maps, comics, posters and photography.
This explains why the exhibited works also include a comic narrative describing the construction of Borobudur some 13 centuries ago, sketches of figures who have contributed to unraveling the mysteries of Borobodur, artistic maps of the possible existence of a prehistoric lake around the temple, posters by UNESCO, old books on Borobudur, and Borobudur’s Gargoyle drainage system.
“We also screened documentary films about Borobudur during the exhibition, including one on the official launch of the temple in 1983 by then president Soeharto following the completion of its second massive restoration,” Jogja Gallery executive director Indro “Kimpling” Suseno said.
Support programs for the exhibition have also been arranged, including public readings of old books on Borobudur by experts from the Borobudur Conservation Office, dialogs and seminars, an essay-writing competition and teacher training workshops.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on April 20, UNESCO Jakarta director Hubert Gijzen said the exhibition had been specially designed to allow people to participate in creative learning activities.
Through the exhibition, he said, his office also made available to the public the process of restoring Borobudur over the past decades, as documented in the publication The Restoration of Borobudur. The UNESCO publication was launched internationally in April 2006 the international organization’s Paris headquarters.
“We hope this exhibition will instigate and inspire all of us to safeguard this (example of) the rich cultural heritage of humanity, so that it will last for another thousand years and beyond,” Gijzen said.
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
May 18th, 2007