Hendri Giallorossi

The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry is set to launch a campaign to promote 900 tourism villages (Desa Wisata) in regions across Indonesia to persuade more foreign tourists to visit.

“We will jointly promote the tourism villages so that they can become more popular across the globe,” said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu while visiting Tanjung Karang, a tourism village in Labuhan Bajo sub-district, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The launch of Desa Wisata was held in conjunction with Nusantara Day 2013.
According to the ministry, Central Sulawesi is one of provinces blessed with abundant maritime potentials that could be used as tourist attractions. One of the potentials is Tanjung Karang, a charming fishing village that has attracted many tourists. Tanjung Karang has been set as a Desa Wisata to maximize the use of its potentials.

“The development of Tanjung Karang as a Desa Wisata has been ongoing since 2012, although its official launch was just held today,” said Mari in her remarks.
She said Tanjung Karang village had the potential to become a popular tourist destination because the village integrated the creative industry and tourism.
“It has various culinary delights, such as grilled fish, and hand-carved handicrafts that can generate benefits for the local economy,” said Mari.

The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry will help develop facilities in Tanjung Karang village, such as by providing more boats for tourists as well as diving equipment as it is known for its underwater biodiversity.

Mari took the opportunity to go around Tanjung Karang village and dived for around one hour. “Its underwater biodiversity, such as fish and coral, is still well-conserved,” she said.

Source : eturbonews.com

Finlandia menawarkan berbagai kesempatan yang bisa dibilang sangat langka, disini terdapat sebuah hotel unik yang biasanya disebut sebagai Desa Igloo. Tempat menginap ini sangat asri, diselimuti oleh pohon-pohon tanpa adanya polusi.

Dilansir dari hiconsumption, hotel yang dinamakan Kakslauttanen ini berada di lokasi Taman Nasional Urho Kekkonen, Finlandia. Hotel ini merupakan tempat paling ideal untuk melihat bintang.
Kakslauttanen menyediakan sekitar 20 rumah Igloo dan setiap kamarnya dibangun menggunakan kaca termal dengan langit-langit transparan yang memungkinkan para wisatawan untuk menikmati langit malam sambil tiduran. Wisatawan juga bisa merasakan sensasi pemandangan langit yang indah berupa cahaya utara yang terjadi sepanjang tahun.

Uniknya lagi, rumah Igloo ini tak terbuat dari es, namun rumah-rumah tersebut dibuat dari kaca dan kayu-kayu yang membentuk menyerupai Igloo. Setiap kamar hotel pun dilengkapi dengan toilet dan tempat tidur mewah sehingga para wisatawan tak perlu khawatir saat akan tidur disini, dijamin tempat menginap ini terasa sangat nyaman dan hangat.

Selain rumah Igloo yang bisa disewa, hotel ini juga menawarkan beberapa fasilitas untuk wisatawan seperti sauna terbesar di dunia, restoran salju, bar es dan galeri es (berisi barang-barang yang terbuat dari es). Tak hanya itu saja, disini juga tersedia Gereja untuk pembaptisan / pernikahan dengan nama Ice Chapel.

The Begumpet township of Secundrabad, Hyderabad, India, boasts of a beautiful mosque with unique design in Indian context - A mosque with Spanish or Hispano–Islamic architecture.

The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry requires professional guides in Indonesia to follow the existing ethical codes in an attempt to improve the country’s image as a world-class destination.

I Gde Pitana, head of the ministry’s tourism resources department, said tour guides played a crucial role in the tourist industry.

“They are the spearheads in the industry, directly dealing with tourists. Their work and professionalism will certainly mirror our tourism,” Pitana said, while opening the 12th national congress of the Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI) in Denpasar.

Pitana urged all those working as guides to register with official agencies and acquire the necessary professional certification.

Issuing the certificates was another problem. “It should be managed by authorized agencies,” said Pitana, who is also a professor of tourism studies at Udayana University.

He further said the majority of registered guides already demonstrated professionalism.

“But there are still many guides who do not have official licenses. They may act against the ethical codes and could damage the image of Indonesia,” Pitana said.

Recommendation was also made for guides to register as members of HPI. “It is a forum in which guides can share each other’s experiences, exchange information and learn to find solutions,” Pitana said.

Referring to Law No. 10/2009 on tourism, Pitana said that tourism workers, including tour guides, must be certified.

The certificates must be obtained by passing the examinations and evaluations offered by competent and authorized agencies.

The ministry has targeted subsidizing the certification process for 50,000 tourism workers between 2012 and 2014.

“So far, around 47,500 workers have undertaken the certification process,” Pitana said, adding that 50,000 other workers had undergone certification using their own money.

Erman Maulana, chairman of HPI, said that the association had signed the global ethical code for guides in 2012.

The ethical codes on tour guiding stress the importance of good attitudes, skills and knowledge.

“Indonesian guides are weak in attitude. This depends on personal characteristics. It will be a long process to change one’s attitude,” Erman said.

HPI would also issue standard operational procedures for guides, based on international standards.

HPI has 12,000 members across Indonesia, including 6,500 members in Bali. “But only 10 percent of the members have already obtained their certification,” said Erman.

Sumber : Bali Daily

The Indonesian annual travel mart, the Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) or 'Pasar Wisata Indonesia' will this year take place in Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra after being held for two years in Bandar Lampung, a travmedia.com report said. It is scheduled to be held between October 18  to 21  this year at the Grand Inna Muara Hotel & Convention Centre. Entering its 19th year of conduct, TIME is organized to promote Indonesia as a tourist destination in the international market and at the same time raise the country's image as a global travel destination. TIME 2013 is being organized by the Indonesian Tourism Council along with the Provincial Government of West Sumatra and with the support of the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy of Indonesia and the entire tourism components in Indonesia. Meity Robot, Chairwoman, Steering Committee of TIME 2013, said that in its 18-year history, TIME had previously been held in Java and Eastern Indonesia (Makassar and Lombok). "We are happy to announce that TIME this year will take place in Padang this year. The shifting of TIME to West Sumatra is aimed at promoting West Sumatra to the international market and speeding up the development and improvement of infrastructure, tourism facilities and tourism attractions in the region, so that the destination could establish itself as a globally. It will attract more tourist arrivals to the island and speed up the improvement of infrastructure and encourage more investors to the region to develop new hotels as well as tourism attractions," said Robot. "Various destinations in Sumatra are equipped with a good variety of quality hotels as well as cultural, natural and man-made attractions. Hosting TIME would allow international buyers to take a closer look at the products on offer and aid local tourism stakeholders in selling their products overseas," she added. There are six regional gateways in Sumatra, namely Banda Aceh, Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Palembang and Batam. "While direct regional services are still limited to Malaysia and Singapore, destinations in Sumatra can use these regional hubs to attract travelers from beyond these countries," Robot concluded. As every year, top industry policy-makers, sellers and buyers of Indonesian tourism products and services are expected to participate in TIME. It accommodates the interests of local industry players seeking to introduce their tourism products and services to the international markets. The event will feature the Indonesia's tourist attractions, including exciting destinations and special interests as well as top tourist facilities in the country. The annual mart is run on a yearly rotating basis to promote as much provinces to the world as possible in the future.

Sumber : By TBM (TravelBizMonitor) Staff | Mumbai

Pictured below is the 600-metre-long Hillier Lake that can be found in a densely wooded area of Middle Island in Western Australia – one of 100 or so small islands that make up the Archipelago of the Recherche. This vivid pink lake is something of a mystery and the only one of its kind in the world.

The colour is permanent and never changes, even when water is removed and placed in a separate container. Scientists have proven that the lake’s colour is not due to the presence of algae, unlike the other salt lakes Down Under, but they still don’t seem to be able to explain why it’s pink! Another possibility is that the colour comes from red bacteria in the salt crusts.

THAI TOURISM IN DANGER DUE TO THAI ATTITUDES OF FOREIGNERS – Thailand is currently suffering from a downturn in exports.  This is attributed to many global factors of demand and of course the strength of the Bath; which the Government appears unwilling to tackle.
What could save the economy is Thailand’s tourist industry; however over the last few years this also has experience a downturn.


Thailand currently has a number of tourism related issues that many feel are critical to address if Thailand is to be able to compete against other neighbouring countries that are embracing tourism for all it is worth, such a Malaysia and Singapore.
So what are the problems that Thailand must deal with in order to compete?  There are the usual concerns such a safety and the rising level of violent crime.  Whilst Thailand has a population of just 1/6^th that of the United States it’s gun related crime is six times higher.
On top of that we have the continuous reports of foreign tourists being mugged, scammed and raped; all of which are taking their toll on the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand.

Put aside the most prevalent news of the issues above and look a little deeper and it becomes apparent that Thailand lacks friendly staff, services are generally sub-standard and communication difficult due to the lack of tourist related employees being able to speak English; even at a rudimentary level.
For a tourism industry to flourish a number of key ingredients are needed; safety, friendliness, competency and above all the ability to communicate.
If Thailand wants to compete with other Asean members then it must adopt a far better standard of education; so that Thais may communicate in a friendly, helpful and effective manner with their foreign guests.
Of course, for this to occur, the Thai authorities and Thai people must change their attitudes towards foreign nationals.  Foreign tourists should never be viewed upon as simply being cash-cows but rather as valued guests that allow Thais to learn about other cultures.  Tourism, when handled by an effective Government, produces benefits not only for its country in economical terms but also in the education of it people as it promotes a wider understanding.

A recent study by the Centre for International Trade Studies, at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce clearly shows that the Thai economy could sustain itself through tourism even during a downturn in exports if the tourism critical issues were addressed.
The question now is; ‘are the Thais able to learn these skills?’  That in itself is obvious in that anyone, regardless of nationality, is able to learn new skills if there is sufficient desire and therefore the question has to be presented; ‘are Thais willing to learn the skills required for a successful tourist industry?’
The answer to that lays in both the Government and the people.  The Thai Government must address the issues of its education system and notably the corruption within the country. With a stable education system Thai citizens can then adequately learn to communicate and above all appreciate different cultures so that their attitudes change from the narcissistic and nationalistic stance that Thais are the superior race and that all other nationalities are little more than second class citizens.

Thailand is now due to joining the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2016; after postponing its entry in 2015.  If Thailand is unable to quickly address these critical areas then not only could it see a continued downturn in import/export trade but it could also result in its tourist industry fading to its neighbouring competitors and as such will almost certainly have a devastating impact on the Thai economy.
The time for rhetoric and useless populist polices, such as the ‘Rice Pledging Scheme’ has to be put aside and the Government must, at all costs, concentrate on providing an education system for its citizens that will allow them to effectively compete with other AEC members.
There are some quarters who feel that come 2016 the Thai Government will once again postpone entry into AEC due to being unable to tackle the core and fundamental issues Thailand has and yet the longer such measures are delay the more damage is likely to impact the Thai economy as it becomes almost segregated from the rest of South East Asia.

According to Government figures Thailand is expected to attract nearly 35 million foreign visitors a year by 2020.  The tourist industry could generate, according to Government figures, up to 2 trillion Thai Baht annually; accounting for over 11% of Thailand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Currently Malaysia is ahead of the tourism numbers with approximately 25 million visitors a year compared to Thailand’s reported 22 million.  Of course neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos are also concentrating on the tourist trade and as Myanmar steps into the scene the number of foreign tourists available is being spread even thinner.

There is no doubt that Thailand is at a crossroads and it has a clear choice but whether those ruling the country will sacrifice their power and wealth through their continued control is another matter but will ultimately seal the fate of Thailand as a nation and tourist destination.

Sumber : meebal.com