Save tourism in Thousand Islands: Workshop

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/19/2010 7:50 PM

Sepa Island (one of the Thousand Islands)

Resort operators on Thousand Islands have complained of a sharp decline in the number guests, which they say is a result of poor accessibility and marketing.

Jhonny Lapian of PT Buana Bintang Samudra, the management of Putri Island resort, told a workshop Tuesday business was lackluster following the tsunami disaster that ravaged Aceh in December 2004.

“After the tsunami, our revenue declined. Now we no longer profit from the business. The major problem is transportation,” he said.

He added the resort only provided a speedboat during weekends. Transporting guests by speedboat on weekdays, which are usually quiet, costs the company too much, he said. The boat needs at least 30 passengers to cover transport costs.

Haznil Maulana of PT Pantara Wisata Jaya, the management of Pantara Island resort, said the company now operated East Pantara Island only and ceased the operation of West Pantara Island.

“We stopped operating West Pantara Island because we cannot afford the operational costs,” he said.

Sahat sitorus, the Tourism subagency head of Thousand Islands, said there were 11 resorts operating in the archipelagic regency but six of them closed when the Asian financial crisis struck in the late 1990s.

He acknowledged that transport had hindered the development of marine tourism in the regency, consisting of resorts and residential islands.

“Tourists need convenient, fast boats. The wooden boats currently available in Muara Angke are not convenient, fast or safe,” he said.

Data from the Thousand Islands tourism subagency recorded 141,000 tourists last year, 3,316 were foreigners from Europe and Asia. The number stood at 130,000 in 2008.