Archive for September, 2008
Indonesia has opened a new airport in the eastern province of South Sulawesi. The Sultan Hasanuddin airport in Makassar is Indonesia’s third-largest airport, after Jakarta’s Soekarna-Hatta International Airport and Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.
The Sultan Hasanuddin airport is four times the size of its predecessor and is expected to increase tourism and trade in Indonesia’s eastern islands. The new airport can handle up to 7 million visitors a year. Late 2009 will see the opening of a longer runway enabling international flights.
Source: http://www.travelagentcentral.com
September 30th, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) — AirAsia Group’s airlines, AirAsia Bhd and Indonesia AirAsia, have won the prestigious Friends of Thailand Awards 2008 in the category for international airlines for outstanding contributions to Thailands tourism industry in 2006 and 2007.
In a statement here, AirAsia said the awards, given by Tourism Authority of Thailand every two years, recognised the most outstanding supporters of Thailands tourism industry.
“It is a great honour for us to be recognised by no less than the Thai government for our contributions to Thailands tourism industry,” said AirAsia chief executive, Datuk Tony Fernandes.
He said AirAsia was committed to growing Bangkok as a tourism hub.
“Thailands increasing popularity plays a huge part in helping AirAsia achieve its goal of promoting tourism in the Association of South-East Asian Nations region,” he said.
Source: http://www.bernama.com
September 30th, 2008
Mekarsari tourism park has arranged a series of holiday programs to charm the Idul Fitri crowd, including Middle East-themed activities to suit the Muslim holiday, park representatives have said.
In addition to dancing and music, a kafilah (caravan) carnival will be on display, with the park maintaining its tradition of showcasing traditional marawis music (an ensemble of percussion instruments and lutes), rampak bedug drumming music and kendang waroja, a traditional dance from West Java.
“We want to have the Middle East theme, but we also want to preserve local culture. Kendang waroja, for example, is nearly extinct,” Indradewi Triratna, the park’s marketing manager, said Friday.
Mekarsari will also use a crowd-gathering strategy to fill the park during the holiday weekend: A performance of local musicians, including The Changcuters and d’Masiv — ex-Indonesian Idol finalists — as well as dangdut singer Ira Swara, Indradewi said.
“When we hold events on peak season weekends, we can see up to 25,000 people a day. That number should be even higher this coming holiday,” she said.
The park will be open every day from Oct. 1 to 12, with more than 300,000 visitors expected during those two weeks, up from 250,000 last year.
During peak season week days, the park receives around 5,000 visitors, compared to 1,000 during low season.
“We’re confident because we finished our lake, which will attract more visitors. Guests will be able to canoe along the man-made canal, paddle boat or ride in tubes,” Indradewi explained.
Aside from the holiday activities, visitors still can enjoy the park’s core attractions — its collection of 1,437 fruit plants and planting courses.
“We arrange the trees so as to produce fruit at different times of the year. Right now, our 15 species of salak (snake fruit) are ripening,” said Indradewi, who is also an agroscientist.
Some of the salak species, including the Affenis salak from the forests of Kalimantan, are rarely found in markets.
Mekarsari park was created by the late former first lady Tien Soeharto in 1995 as a fruit park and has been managed by PT Mekar Unggul Sari, one of the foundations created by the Soeharto family. It has undergone major renovations in recent years, including a water park, camping park and treehouses. (mri)
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 29th, 2008
By Aloysius Bhui
MAKASSAR, Indonesia, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A new airport in the capital of cocoa-and-coffee-producing South Sulawesi province officially opened on Friday, paving the way for an increase in tourism and trade in Indonesia’s eastern islands.
Indonesia’s government has said it needs to spend billions of dollars modernising and building new infrastructure, including roads, ports, power plants and airports in order to increase economic growth.
The Sultan Hasanuddin airport in Makassar, which bears a faint resemblance to the Norman Foster-designed Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, can handle up to 7 million visitors a year, or twice the expected number for 2007, and cost about 1.3 trillion rupiah ($139 million).
With the opening of a longer runway by the end of next year, bigger aircraft will be able to land, paving the way for more international flights.
“The seven million passengers target can be achieved next year,” said Akhmad Munir, spokesman for PT Angkasa Pura I, the state firm which operates 13 airports in Indonesia including Sultan Hasanuddin.
That will make it Indonesia’s third-largest airport, after Jakarta’s Soekarna-Hatta and Bali’s Ngurah Rai, based on the number of visitors, he said.
“This airport is the most luxurious one in the eastern part of Indonesia. Hopefully, the airport can stimulate other sectors to grow,” said Eddy Amiruddin, the airport’s air traffic director.
Visitors to the new airport, which was inaugurated on Friday by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said they were impressed by its modern design and size, as the new, 51,000-square-metre terminal is nearly four times the size of the old one.
“I think this is the best airport I have ever seen in Indonesia,” said an Indian-born manager from a cocoa-exporter in Makassar.
Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd (AIRA.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is currently the only airline offering international flights to Makassar, from Kuala Lumpur.
The airport still uses the old 2,600-metre (8,530 ft) runaway as the new 3,100-metre runaway is still under construction. (Reporting by Aloysius Bhui; Editing by Sara Webb) (aloysius.bhui@thomsonreuters.com; +6221-384 6364 ext 913) ($1=9375 Rupiah)
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/
September 29th, 2008
Anton Muhajir, Contributor, Buleleng
Night descended slowly on Pegayaman, a village nestled in a hilly region in the southern part of Buleleng. The quiet ambience was gradually filled with the noise of people getting ready to break their fast.
Groups of children walked along the village’s dusty main road. In their hands were plastic bags filled with cakes and fruits. They chatted animatedly as they delivered the plastic bags to the homes of their relatives and neighbors.
The children were carrying out ngejot; the Balinese-Hindu tradition of sending food-parcel gifts to relatives and neighbors, which is practiced in this predominantly Muslim village.
Ngejot illustrates the close relationship enjoyed by the village’s population of around 5,000 people and underlines their willingness to share.
Food gifts usually include traditional cakes, such as jaja uli and dodol, and fresh fruits.
Ngejot is carried out faithfully by members of the village during the fasting month of Ramadan and other Muslim celebrations.
The tradition signifies the close cultural affinity between members of the Muslim village and their surrounding, pre-dominantly Balinese-Hindu environment.
Ngejot is customary in major Balinese-Hindu rituals and temple festivals, during which people send gifts of food, usually lawar (shredded vegetables with minced meat) and satay, to their neighbors, relatives and traditional leaders.
The perbekel (head) of Pegayaman village, Ketut Asghor Ali, said the tradition demonstrated that the people of Pegayaman practiced many of the cultural traditions that belonged to Balinese-Hindus.
“As long as that tradition does not violate the basic tenets of (our) religion, then I think it’s OK. After all, ngejot is all about extending good will and sharing, which are social values promoted by every religion,” Ketut said.
Several Muslim villages in Bali practice the ngejot tradition. In the village of Kepaon in Denpasar, for instance, Muslims send the food gifts to their Hindu neighbors during Ramadan. The Balinese-Hindus in the village make a similar gesture during their Galungan and Kuningan festivals.
Muslim villages in Bali were built during the island’s feudal, pre-independence period, which explains their adaption to the surrounding Hindu communities compared to that of Javanese and Lombok migrant communities that have relocated to Bali in the last three decades.
These “old” Muslim villages included Kepaon and Serangan in Denpasar, Loloan in Jembrana, Lebah in Klungkung and Saren in Karangasem. Each village shows a different degree of acculturation with its cultural host.
Pegayaman is arguably the Muslim village with the highest degree of cultural acculturation, and ngejot is a small part of the whole picture.
The people of Pegayaman have also incorporated elements of Hindu festivals into their Muslim festivities: Prior to any major Muslim festival, residents of Pegayaman carry out several preparatory stages, including penyajaan (the making of cakes), penapean (the making of fermented cassava) and penampahan (the slaughter of animal). These stages mirror the ones undertaken prior to the Galungan and Kuningan celebrations.
The only difference is the type of animal slaughtered: Hindus sacrifice pigs while Muslims sacrifice cows.
During Muludan, a celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, the people of Pegayaman hold a colorful street parade, which includes the Balinese Ogoh-Ogoh, a papier mache giant doll carried by Balinese Hindu in a street procession to celebrate the Hindu new year.
The parade also features Sokok Basa and Sokok Taluh. The former is a multi-colored decoration while the latter is a dish made from chicken eggs. Both are similar to that used in the Balinese Hindus’ Gebogan.
A troupe chants sacred verses during the parade using the Balinese-Hindu chanting melody known as kidung. Moreover, Hadrah musicians join the parade dressed in traditional Balinese attire.
However, acculturation goes beyond the religious rituals: The Pegayaman farmers manage their rice fields and clove and coffee plantations through subak, the Balinese traditional irrigation organization.
Another example of the acculturation lies in the first names of the Pegayaman residents: They still use the Balinese names of Wayan, Made, Nyoman and Ketut, which indicate first born, second born, third born and fourth born, respectively.
The residents also use variations of those traditional first names, such as Nengah, Putu and Kadek, while their last names are mostly derived from Arabic and other popular foreign words.
For example, Muslim resident Nengah Panji Islam named his children Putu Ayu Maziyya, Made Eva Nadya and Nyoman Alvin Gautama.
“My little brother, who is married to a woman from Solo, Central Java, also insisted on giving his children Balinese first names,” he said.
Nengah said Pegayaman and its cultural acculturation had made Bali a more colorful island.
“The strong acculturation between Islamic, Balinese and Hindu cultures in Pegayaman have bestowed this island with a unique color, an enriching one,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ketut Asghor Ali said social and cultural values could be practiced by members of different faiths without impinging on the sanctity of each respective religion.
“The acculturation we have practiced here in Pegayaman sometimes makes me wonder why there are certain groups in Indonesia that insist on imposing Islamic law in this country,” Ketut said.
“Why should we impose our law on people of different faiths? Islam has multi-interpretative teachings. How can we ask (people of different faiths) to accept Islamic law while Islam itself is still divided into Shiite and Suni, which until now are still struggling to find a common ground,” he added.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 26th, 2008
Triwik Kurniasari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With Idul Fitri just a week away, the city administration is getting ready to manage and monitor this year’s exodus and return traffic flow.
Deputy Governor Prijanto said Wednesday about 2.5 million passengers would be departing from Jakarta to other cities across the country.
He said the number would increase by 12 percent more than last year’s exodus figures.
“The transportation agency has teamed up with the health agency to routinely administer urine tests for bus drivers to assure they are free from alcohol. It’s for passengers’ safety and comfort,” Prijanto said.
He called on the fire agency to prepare its officers and facilities to prevent any blaze within 24 hours..
Prijanto spoke after seeing off 1,600 personnel from various agencies — including Health, Public Order, Residential and Civil Registry and Transportation — in a roll call held at the National Monument (Monas) park.
Transportation agency head M. Tauchid Tjakra Amidjaja said his office had provided additional bus embarkation points in five municipalities across the capital.
“Buses will stop in Kemayoran (Central Jakarta), Tanjung Priok and Muara Angke (North Jakarta), Grogol (West Jakarta) and Pinang Ranti (East Jakarta),” Tauchid said.
“We have also deployed officers to check vehicle conditions in every bus station,” he said.
Moreover, the Transportation Ministry has added economy-class cars to the Matarmaja train from Senen in Jakarta to Malang in East Java, to accomodate more passengers during exodus.
Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Jamal said state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api had also added on new cars to some outbound economy-class trains, including Dangtuanku (West Java), Banten Express (Banten) and Banyu Biru Express (Central Java).
To prepare for the influx after the holidays, the city has delegated the residential and civil registry agency to erect banners and to distribute thousands of fliers in 33 areas across the city, in an effort to prevent more unskilled newcomers from migrating to the capital.
Prijanto discouraged Jakartans from bringing relatives or friends back with them to the capital.
The administration estimated another 200,000 people would come to the capital in this year’s returning tide.
In Banten, Adjis Ariwibowo, manager of operations for the Tangerang-Merak toll road company PT Marga Mandala Sakti (MMS), said the company had made a concerted effort to give the best service — unhampered traffic flow, security and comfort — to users of that major artery.
“Although repairs are still underway, our maintenance team will work around the clock in anticipation of emergency repairs in case of sudden damage to sections of the turnpike,” he said
Earlier, the head of Banten’s transportation agency, Harry Parwanto, said Wednesday he had sent a letter to MMS last week asking for the repairs to be completed a week before Idul Fitri.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 26th, 2008
Indonesia has seen a strong start to 2008 tourist arrival figures. The number of tourists visiting the archipelago during the first quarter increased by 15.68% year on year (y-o-y), to 1,405,456. This increase is very much in line with BMI’s own expectations of a 15% annual rise, so we see no reason to modify our forecasts this quarter. Bali continues to be the engine driving the wider Indonesian tourism industry, with the island welcoming some 197,700 tourists in February alone, an increase of almost 30%.
Adam Air Grounded
In a further blow for Indonesia’s embattled airline industry, the government decided in March 2008 to revoke Adam Air’s operating licence. The decision follows a spate of fatal accidents in 2007 and another incident in March 2008, when an Adam Air plane overshot the runway on Batam Island. Although no people were killed in this latest incident, it was enough to spur the government into action, especially as a recent quarterly safety evaluation carried out by the ministry found the airline had ‘violations that could put passengers’ safety at risk’. The decision means that Adam Air is now grounded until it is evaluated again in June 2008. If no improvements are found, the airline will have its air operator certificate permanently removed and the airline will be effectively closed down. The airline was already suffering from financial turmoil, with the Batam crash prompting the private consortium led by PT Bhakti Investama to offload its 50% stake in the airline. At the same time, the airline’s president, Adam Adutya Suherman, suggested to local media that the airline was no longer able to insure its fleet of aircraft, as it could not meet a deadline for payments on its insurance policies. This follows reports the airline had already defaulted on some of its lease payments for aircraft. BMI believes that the grounding of Adam Air is a welcome sign that the Indonesian authorities are now cracking down on the bad practices and lax attitudes to safety that have marred the industry in recent years. However, the closure of the airline will have a deletrious impact on capacity within the domestic industry. Adam Air had flown 6mn passengers in 2007, so the industry may not now not be able to serve so many passengers this year.
Visit Indonesia 2008 Campaign Launched
In late December 2007, the government officially launched Visit Indonesia 2008. The aims of this US$15mn domestic and international marketing campaign are to attract some 7mn foreign tourists to Indonesia and generate some US$6.4bn in foreign tourism receipts. There will also be over 100 international events and cultural festivals held around the archipelago to raise Indonesia’s international profile. The campaign marks the first time since 1991 that the government has held an international Visit Indonesia marketing campaign. The last campaign was not particularly successful, but this was carried out during a time of global economic slowdown. This year’s launch also got off to an inauspicious start when it was revealed that the tourism ministry’s English slogan ‘Celebrating 100 years of nation’s awakening’ was incorrect and had to be changed to ‘100 years of national awakening’. This gaffe forced Garuda Indonesia to repaint 10 planes that had already been tagged with the slogan. Although we welcome the launch of this tourism marketing campaign as a way of bringing tourists back to the country, BMI does not believe that the 7mn target can be reached, as this would represent a massive 27% increase y-o-y. We believe that our long-held target of 6.35mn visitors for 2008 can be reached, provided of course the security situation does not deteriorate. This would still represent strong annual growth of over 15%.
Indonesia Losing Tourism Competitiveness
The World Economic Forum recently released its second annual World Tourism Competitiveness Index. Indonesia has fallen 20 places from last year, to now be ranked at 80 out of 130 countries surveyed. The 2008 report placed particular emphasis on the issue of ‘balancing economic development and environmental stability’. The WEF’s analysis tallies very much with BMI’s own views on the country. In the WEF’s analysis, Indonesia scores highly in areas such as price competitiveness and national prioritisation of travel and tourism. However, weaknesses included underdeveloped tourism infrastructure and other issues related to
tourist safety and security.
www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/Indonesia-Tour ..
Author:
Mike King
e-mail
Web: www.companiesandmarkets.com
Phone: 01933674780
Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/
September 25th, 2008
Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) – Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik launched a maiden activity of the Indonesian Supervolcano Mountaineering Challenge (ISVMC) of 2008 in Jakarta on Thursday (Sept 11).
To be held in the mountainous areas of Tambora and Rinjani volcanoes in West Nusatenggara (NTB) province on October 14-28, 2008, the ISVMC event poses an alternative of mountaineering activity-based eco-tourism for foreign and domestic mount climbers in a bid to make the Visit Indonesia Year (VIY) program to a success.
As a result of the ministry’s cooperation with the Indonesian Mountaineering Federation (FMI), administration offices of West Lombok, Dompu and Bima districts, the event was expected to be a preliminary step to develop mountaineering activity-based ecotourism to promote, socialize, improve human resources and empower local people living in the mountainenous areas, the ISVMC organizing committeee said.
The event also aims to lure more foreign and domestic tourists, thus introducing the beauty of Indonesian nature and culture.
The participants are teams which consist of three members (women, men and mixed) which has a standard of mountaineering skill.
The competition is to be devided into two series – Tambora and Rinjani which will respectively last for three days.
The organizing committee will apply some points of the skill such as navigation, cordage (rope technique), obstacles, speed and safety procedure in which each element will appear as criteria of assessment and evaluation for the champion and runners up.
The ISVMC activity of 2008 is more dominated by mount climbers throughout Indonesia, most of whom are grouped in natural lovers and community who have certain interest to mountaineering activity.
The committee will provide certain prize like money, trophy and charter from the culture and tourism minister, governor and district heads. The trophy of culture and tourism ministry will be handed over to the first champion of Tambora and Rinjani Series and over all champion of the 2008 ISVMC event.
Minister Jero Wacik said that the event can function as a facility to encouraging the development of tourism especially mountaineering activity during which its implementation will involve more local people, so that the activity will bring better impact on the welfare of the local people.
For further information, please contact Mr Surya Dharma, Director of the Information and Public Relations, Culture and Tourism Ministry. Phone : 021-3838167, 021-3838131 and Fax : 021-3849715.
Source: http://www.antara.co.id
September 24th, 2008
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is to host the 52nd Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) on Nov. 18 - 21.
“Jakarta as the capital city of Indonesia earns honor after being elected as a host of APFF,” the leading website Kompas.com on Monday quoted the chairman of APFF organizing committee Raam Punjabi as saying.
“Therefore, in return of this, we would like the Jakarta city government to support the event,” he said.
The Jakarta governor will hold a welcoming dinner for the guests of APFF around the city square Monas.
Jakarta has hosted similar events for six times, and the last one was held in 2001.
Punjabi said that 105 films from 21 countries will take part in the festival. Indonesia alone will send five films which have been nominated at Indonesian film festival in 2001.
Jury panel is comprised of three Indonesians and other four from foreign participants.
The budget of the festival, according to Panjabi, reaches about 6.5 billion rupiahs (7,300 million U.S. dollars) which will be sponsored by the Indonesian tourism and culture ministry and Jakarta city government.
The festival initially was held in 1954, and one of an annual events in Asian, designated by the Board of Directors of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in the Asia-Pacific region.
(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2008)
Source: http://www.china.org.cn/culture
September 23rd, 2008
For years it has lived in the shadow of its more famous neighbour Bali. Now Indonesia’s pristine Lombok Island is making a concerted effort to build itself up as the next Bali, while trying to maintain its natural charm.
Slower to catch the tourism train than its neighbour to the west, Lombok has been promoted as an “unspoiled Bali.But a future $600 million development may see it emerge on par with Bali as a world-class tourism destination, according to the United Arab Emirates-based developer.
Tourists visiting Lombok typically treat it as a side-trip to Bali, staying just a few days.
The Japanese and Australians, Bali’s top two groups of tourists, come to Lombok for the surfing. The Koreans come to honeymoon, and the Europeans see it more like an extension of Bali.
Expats from Jakarta come for the relaxation, explains Dominique Duvivier, the general manager of Accor’s Novotel Lombok.But he says there’s new interest in Lombok. The hotel struggled to survive in the aftermath of the tourism downturn that followed the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.
Business is particularly good this year though, with the hotel running at about 53 per cent occupancy compared to just 30 per cent at this time last year. News of a new airport and plans by UAE property developer Emaar Properties have helped generate interest in Lombok.
“I think Bali is too crowded so they need to find a plan B,” Duvivier said.“Also this development program is bringing some new investors, some new tourists. The Novotel Lombok is currently the only top-end hotel in the island’s south, although there are other budget and mid-range accommodation options in the area.
Lombok’s principal beach resort of Sengiggi is situated in the western part, closer to the capital Mataram, the current airport and Lembar, the main port for ferries. Work has started on a new $72 million international airport, close to the town of Praya and about 30 km south of the existing Salaparang airport.
Authorities believe the opening of the new airport, expected in 2010, will make Lombok a primary tourist destination, rather than just an add-on to Bali. International travellers will be able to fly direct to Lombok. And the new airport will be able to handle 2.4 million visitors, compared to Salaparang airport’s 800,000 passenger capacity.
Tourists from the Middle East are expected to be drawn by Emaar’s planned development of a 1,175-hectare site in south Lombok. The development will be set along a seven-kilometre natural waterfront complete with five-star resorts, luxury residences, a marina, golf course and shops.
The Bali Tourism Development Corporation signed off on the Lombok mega-tourism project in March, with master planning for the development beginning in April. The first five-star hotels are expected to open to guests in a few years time and further development will take place over a number of years.
Emaar says its project, set on the Kuta and Tanjung beaches, will be environmentally friendly, integrating natural elements into a residential, leisure and hospitality zone.
Unveiling the project in April last year, Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar described Lombok as one of the most promising tourism destinations in Indonesia, adding it had the potential to be a magnet for world travellers.
Visit Lombok today and you’re certainly not met with a carbon copy of Bali. It’s more laid back and less touristy, even though tourism is the island’s largest source of income. It’s sometimes described as being like Bali 20 years ago, although at least one Lombok travel company says that’s incorrect if you consider the landscapes and cultures that are uniquely Lombok.
As lombokhotelandtravel.com puts it: “As the old saying goes, ‘You can see Bali in Lombok but you can’t see Lombok in Bali. The writer was a guest of Accor Hospitality and Garuda Indonesia, staying at the Novotel Lombok.
Source: http://www.southasianpost.com/
September 22nd, 2008
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