Vol. I No.1/9 2013

NationalCultural P a r a d e

www.paradiso.co.id

BOARD of Dewantoro Umbu JokaDIRECTOR Tonny Wijadjanto tonny@ultimoparadiso.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Igo Kleden igo@ultimoparadiso.com

REPORTER Tri Wibowo bowo@ultimoparadiso.com MARKETING MANAGER Tania FREELANCE MARKETING Ben Sisko sales@ultimoparadiso.com

GRAPHICDESIGNER

ACCOUNTING Ni Komang Suciani accounting@ultimoparadiso.com

TRANSLATOR Indira Sari Paputungan

CONTRIBUTOR Christovao Vinhas christi_ani09@yahoo.com

DISTRIBUTOR Martin Sanjaya

BANK ACCOUNT 580 129 3435, Permata Bank Jl. Dewi Sartika - Denpasar

DISTRIBUTIONDOMESTIC: BALI - Kuta, Ngurah Rai Airport, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Denpasar and Ubud Area. JAKARTA - Ahmad Sufyani - Jl. Tomang Raya No. 63 - Ja-karta 11440. SURABAyA - Jl.Jend.Basuki Rahmat 129-137, Surabaya 60271, Ph : 031 – 5316364, Fax: 031 – 5315435. yogyAKARTA - Jl.Rumah Makan gudeg 60 Citro, Laksda Adisucipto Km 9, yogyakarta 55281, Ph.0274-488663. MANADo - Resort Scuba Diving-Liveboard. Manado, Hp. 08114303655 / 081 340 247 788 Fax. 656720685, LoMBoK - Lombok Eksotis, Jl. Adi Sucipto No. 43, Ampenan - Lombok 83234, Ph. (0370) 643014, Fax (0370) 646840. KUPANg - Jl. Perintis Ke-merdekaan III/38 - Walikota Kupang Phone: 0380 822102 SUMBA BARAT - Jl. Sudirman No. 5 Wai-kabubak - Sumba Barat. SUMBA TIMUR - Melan-thon, Jl. Eltari No. 41 Matawai - Sumba Timur, Ph. 081353977788, 085239118181. LABUAN BAJo - Martin Meotoda, Ph. 081338151744

OvERSEAS: MALAySIA - maxiINFo, 32-3-1, Ja-lan Medan Putra 4 Medan Putra Business Centre. off Jalan Damansara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur. AUS-TRALIA - Mr. Andre Wecklif Antonio. T, D/a 262 Wardel rd, Dulwich Hill-Sydney – NSW – 2203. Australia. THAILAND - Andrea Capucci, 94/23 Wichitsongkram Rd. Kathu, Phuket 83120, Ph. 076 249 688. WASHINgToN DC - Aria Salaka 19233 - Wheatfield Terrace - Gaitthersburg, MD 20879. CANADA - Johanne Dube, 152, rue Notre-Dame est, 8 etage, Montreal, Qc, Canada H2y 3p6. NETHERLAND - Vrijburglaan 72051 LA overveen +31 235253619. ITALy - Viaggi del Mappamondo, Viale Regina Margherita 270 - 00198, Rome, Ph. +39 06 48789200, Fax. +39 06 4815506. FRANCE - Europasia Commercial Agency, 15, rue Vallete 75005, Paris. gERMANy - Hattersheimerstr, 19, Frankfurt 60326. CZECH REPUBLIC - Mr. Miroslav Radakovic, Na Zamecke 6/409 140 000 Prague Czech Republic, Ph. +420 261219316 - 19, Fax. +261 219320. CUBA - Viaggi del mappamondo - Cuba, c/o Hotel Sevilla, Trocadero y Zuleta y Prado, 55, La Habana, Ph./Fax. +53 07 8669767. SLoVENIA - Miss. Polona Pirnat, c/o Kompas D.D, Prazakova 4, 1514, Ljubyana, Slovenia.

yudick Ariantyudickariant@gmail.com

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17183Vol. VII No. 9, 2013 Focus

Hollywood actress, Nicole Kidman took time to watch the panoramic beauty of nature and culture of yogyakarta.

The beautiful artist traveled around the city of culture as well as visited the slopes of Merapi, which is very phenomenal. Interestingly during her trip to yogyakarta, the star of ‘Margot at the Wedding’ often appeared without makeup. Ex-wife of actor Tom Cruise was rarely recognized by people who happened to cross paths with her.

“Not being recognized makes me enjoy-ing the day with so much fun here. I could go anywhere. Indeed I am most afraid of being stalked by paparazzi,” Nicole Kidman said on her website.

As we all know, Nicole Kidman is one of Hollywood actresses who is considered to be productive. This year only, the mother of four children Connor Cruise, Isabella Jane Cruise, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban and Faith Mar-garet Kidman, has prepared four new films namely ‘The Railway Man’, ‘grace of Mona-co’, ‘Anchorman: The Legend Continue’ , to the last, ‘Before I go To Sleep’.

The Australian actress now has activities as a singer and movie producer. Kidman’s career in film began in 1983. She starred in many Australian films and television produc-tions until her breakthrough in the 1989 thriller “Dead Calm”. (*)

Nicole Kidman to Enjoy Yogyakarta Trip

4 Vol. I No.1/9 2013FOCUS

Foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in the period of January to June 2013 created a new record, reaching 4,154,478 people,

up by 7.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Mari Elka Pangestu said that the accumulation of foreign tourists visiting In-donesia in the first half of this year rose from 3,876,310 people in 2012 to 4,154,478 people in the period of January to June 2013. “Central Bureau of Statistics mentioned that foreign tour-ist visit in June 2013 was recorded as many as 789, 594 people,” said Mari Elka Pangestu in Jakarta recently.

She said that this achievement is a new re-cord for foreign tourist visit to Indonesia. Previ-

ously, the highest figure recorded in December 2012 was 766, 966 tourist arrivals. “With this fig-ure, it means that the number of tourists in June 2013 rose by 13.5 percent over the same month last year,” she said.

The increase was contributed by tourists coming from the United Arab Emirates (122.4 percent), China (54.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (34.3 percent), Hong Kong (31.5 percent), and Taiwan (30.4 percent).

“Efforts to promote Indonesian tourism in Europe are also beginning to show results. We hope that there will be positive trend in the incoming peak seasons. We are optimistic that the target of tourist arrival this year will be achieved,” she said.

Kemenparekraf consider the significant in-

crease of foreign tourists visit from Asia and the Middle East is the success of the marketing strategies that focus on the Asian market while maintaining 16 major markets.

Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has also set a 2013 target of foreign tourists visit into three scenarios, namely: pessimistic target of 8.3 million, a moderate target of 8.6 million, and the optimistic target of 8.9 million. In June 2013, tourist visit from European coun-tries which became the primary target showed significant increase.

The biggest increase in foreign tourist arrival is experienced by tourists from Russia (25 per-cent) and them followed by the Netherlands and germany (15 percent), the UK (7.5 percent), and France (12.8 percent). (Bowo)

Hospitality investments in a number of tour-ist destination countries in Asia increased by 85% to U.S. $ 1.3 billion in the first half

of 2013 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Mike Batchelor, Managing Director Invest-ment Sales Hotel & Hospitality Jones Lang La-Salle, in a press release stated that Asian hotel investment report on the first half of 2013 indi-cates strength of solid sales growth since 2008.

Rapid tourism market investments in a number of countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Ja-pan, Thailand, and the Maldives are considered to trigger the growth of hotel property in Asia.

“Japan that received 37% of regional invest-ment is triggered among other by strong domes-tic growth, which also increases the demand for travelling. The second country which received 34% of the regional transaction for property in-vestment in Asia is a neighboring country, Sin-gapore, “he said.

He further said that midscale hotel perfor-mance growth in Jakarta in 2013 has slightly declined compared to the previous year.

While the Head of Research at Jones Lang LaSalle Indonesia Anton Sitorus describes the performance growth for the midscale hotel occu-pancy rates declined from 72% in 2012 to 68% in the period of January-May 2013.

For upscale hotel occupancy rate increased slightly from 67% in 2012 to 68% in the period of January-May 2013. “But with such a description, hotel performance is still positive,” he said.

He said that the growth of hotel supply will peak in 2014, which estimated that there are up to approximately 5,500 additional units, whereas the addition of supply in 2013 is expected to not exceed 2,000 units.

Currently, it is estimated that there are 28,300 units of hotel rooms in Jakarta, mostly spread in South Jakarta (36%), and followed by North Jakarta (26%), Central Jakarta (23%), West Ja-karta (10%), and East Jakarta (5%). (*)

By June, 4.15 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia

Hospitality investments in Asia to Reach US$ 1.3 Billion Hollywood actress gwyneth Paltrow secretly spent holiday on the island of Komodo, East Nusa Tenggara last

May. It seems to be unforgettable getaway for gwyneth. In her personal website, goop.com, Chris Martin’s wife called her trip to Komodo Island as a dream come true. “A dream of mine came true when I travelled to Indonesia for the first time,” she wrote.

During her time there, gwyneth stayed in a boat, which has similar facility to a hotel. She also posted some photos of her bed in the boat.

gwyneth shared exciting adventure with her children during her trip on the island of Komodo. It is known from photographs and statements she posted on her website. “Nev-er did I imagine that we would run our hands through the dark ocean at night and watch it light up with phosphorous, see a Komodo dragon in the wild, swim over a massive sea turtle, or be taught to make native dishes in situ,” gwyneth wrote on her website. She also posted photos traditional dishes from NTT.

The Iron Man 3 actress also brought her two children, Apple and Moses. They look very happy during their vacation on the is-land, which is famous for the beauty of the sea and the fauna. In the website, gwyneth also displayed several photos of her with the kids were playing on the beach.

The stunning blonde also revealed her ad-miration for the island of Komodo. She also said that she will never forget her holiday on Komodo Island. “our trip was beautiful. We were lucky to be there. That we will never for-get it, “she said. (*)

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Fun Getaway to Komodo Island

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Igo Kleden info@paradiso.co.id

EDITOR Tri Wibowo GRAPHICDESIGNER

ACCOUNTING Ni Komang Suciani TRANSLATOR Indira Sari Paputungan

CONTRIBUTOR Christovao Vinhas christi_ani09@yahoo.com

17185Vol. I No.1/9 2013 My Indonesia

Steelheart, Firehouse, oneRepublic, Mew and Club 8, five international rock bands will perform at the

guinness Arthur’s Day 2013 in Medan, Bali, Surabaya and Makassar. The five legendary rock bands will perform in four cities in Indonesia on 12, 15, 17 and 19 october, 2013.

“The longing has ended for Steelheart finally takes part in the celebration of the 4th guinness Arthur’s Day in Indonesia! With the addition of Steelheart, we have a total of 5 international bands joining the cel-ebration this year. guinness Arthur’s Day is a proof of appreciation to the guinness lovers in Indonesia for the endless support given to us, “said Herman Sulina, Market-

ing Director of guinness Indonesia in Ja-karta.

guinness Arthur’s Day celebration is the annual celebration for the first time held in 2009 to coincide with the celebration of 250 years of the signing of the 9,000 year lease of Arthur guinness on Septem-ber 1759 in St. James’s gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. In 2012, the celebration of Arthur’s Day has grown rapidly to be held in 55 countries, spanning six time zones, where the audiences all over the world give toast to the legendary stout inventor, Arthur guinness.

In Indonesia, guinness Arthur’s Day was first celebrated in 2010. Since then, famous bands such as Lifehouse, The Script and

Creed have performed on the stage in sev-eral Indonesian cities. Last year, more than 19,000 people joined the guinness Arthur’s Day celebrations in Jakarta, Makassar, Me-dan and Surabaya. “We anticipate that this year’s celebration will attract more partici-pants in five cities in Indonesia,” he said.

Celebration of Arthur’s DayTM 2013 in Indonesia will begin in Medan on october 12, featuring Steelheart and Firehouse, and will be followed by appearances in Bali on october 15, Surabaya and Makassar on october 17 on october 19. Closing of guin-ness Arthur’s Day will be held at Jakarta International Expo Center on Saturday, oc-tober 26, 2013 by featuring oneRepublic, Mew and Club 8. (*)

Five International Rock Bands to Rock 4 Cities

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Mari Elka Pangestu offers convenience in

the form of one-stop services and licensing for a world-class producer or director who wants to make a film that takes place in Indonesia.

“We do not have the tax break facility like in Singapore or Malaysia, but we guaran-tee that we will provide ‘the best service’ and there are many other interesting things that we offer to those who want to make films in Indonesia,” said Mari Pangestu in Jakarta.

She explained various facilities on offer, which includes a one-stop licensing for vi-sas, immigration, baggage affairs, and ser-vices to foreign film crews.

Moreover, according to Mari, in terms of location, Indonesia offers many beauti-ful and interesting places for film-making venue. “We in Indonesia have all, like the mountains, beaches, forests and even lo-cal crews. Indonesia is potential for the epic filmmaking that requires large number of participants,” she said.

Since 2010 till now has been noted that there are four box office movies that

worked in Indonesia including Eat Pray Love, The Philosopher, Java Hits, and Mi-chael Mann’s latest film which title is not yet published (Mann Untitled Project).

Let’s hope in the future there will be more producer and film director who are interest-ed in making Indonesia as a filming loca-tion. “Michael Mann himself has said that he will make another film project that takes place in Indonesia,” she said.

According to Mari, by becoming a world-class filming location, Indonesia benefited from the promotion so that Indonesia can be a film-making destination that is increas-ingly recognized in the world.

In addition, the benefits that can be felt directly is the involvement of local crews, which are generally in large quantities so that the domestic economy can move dur-ing the shooting took place. (*)

Easier procedure for film-making in Indonesia

german investors interested in managing Kusu Island attractions in South Halmahera (Halsel), North Maluku

(Maluku), after seeing the beauty of the island. Head of Public Relations and Protocol Halsel Regency David Djubaidi said german investor will manage Kusu Island attraction into international standard tourist destination.

He did not mention the identity of the inves-tor, but they are determined to build a number of resorts that are designed in accordance to the local traditional house’s characteristics as well as various other facilities in Kusu Island with tens of billions of rupiahs of funds.

The investor is optimistic that Kusu Island will be visited by domestic and foreign tourists

considering its beautiful white sand beach and stunning underwater panorama, which beauty is comparable with underwater view in Raja Ampat, West Papua, in terms of the diversity of coral reefs and fish species.

The beauty of the underwater panorama in the waters attraction Kusu Island is no less when compared to the underwater panorama of Raja Ampat, West Papua, both in terms of diversity and number of species of coral reef fish species.

“Not yet known when the german investor will manage the attraction on Kusu Island, but obviously local government of Halsel will pro-vide various facilities to the investors both in terms of licensing and policy support,” he said.

Halsel district government hopes that the german investor will immediately realize its business in Kusu Island, so that it ca immedi-ately contribute to the region, both in terms of local revenue and employment provision.

He added that, in addition to Kusu Island, Halsel also offers other interesting tourist at-tractions such as Widi Island and guraici Beach, which is known for its beautiful under-water panorama.

Halsel district government continues to con-duct various programs to support the develop-ment of tourism sector in the region, such as working on the possibility of wide-bodied air-craft to land at the airport in order to facilitate tourists visiting the area. (*)

German investors interested in Managing South Halmahera Destinations

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Welcome to

Ibu Mari PangestuMinister of Tourism

and Creative Economy in West Sumba

Regent - JP Pandango &

People of West Sumba

Steelheart

Eat Pray Love movie

6 Vol. I No.1/9 2013My Indonesia

Hospitality business in Jakarta is growing especially because the world is still account for Jakarta

in terms of business and tourism trends. This can be seen from the hospitality map reported by STR global, the growth of Indonesia’s Capital pipeline occupies third position after China and India.

Specifically for luxurious accommoda-tion facilities or luxury class, Jakarta has been chosen by several international brands such as Westin, W, and St. Regis, which is a network of Starwood Hotels group, Hilton Hotels group that carries the Waldorf Astoria. It is followed by Raf-fles Hotels and Resorts, and Rosewood Hotels and Resorts.

Jakarta’s potentials can be compared with other metropolitan cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Mum-bai, or even Tokyo. Jones Lang LaSalle reported in 2012 that Jakarta upscale hotel market recorded at an average oc-cupancy rate of 64 percent at a daily rate (average daily room rate / ADR) 151 U.S. dollars (USD 1,496,530).

When compared with the achievement of this year, a growth rate of 0.3 percent in occupancy to 67 percent and ADR of 10.6 percent to 168 U.S. dollars (USD 1,665,010).

Seven new luxury hotels that will be built in Jakarta until 2017:

Fairmont Jakarta

This hotel is located in Senayan Square, South Jakarta, not far from the CBD Sudirman. Fairmont Jakarta offers 371 special rooms and 117 suites. This hotel managed by the Canadian Pacific Hotels network is equipped with the nec-essary facilities for urban communities that include a ballroom measuring 3,500 square meters, and a ballroom of 1,200 square meters. Fairmont Jakarta will fulfill the new portfolios such as the Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica, and The

Fairmont San Francisco and Fairmont property. All three are part of the 60 prop-erties managed by the Canadian Pacific Hotels all over the world.

St. Regis Hotel

After briefly leaving the development of multifunctional The Icon in the Sudirman corridor, Jakarta, St. Regis Hotel & Resi-dences is now back. However, this time it is located in the corridor of gatot Subroto. The hotel that is already present in Bali includes 125 guest rooms and 26 suites. In addition to the hotel, there are also boutique-class retail and restaurant with charming architectural design. St Regis Hotel & Residence will start operating in January 2016.

Westin Hotels

Jakarta’s elites can now enjoy the luxury hotel at the moment of the New year 2015. Westin is in a 63-story building with a pan-oramic view of Jakarta Skyline. There are 250 rooms and suites equipped with com-fortable Westin Heavenly Bed ®.

W Hotels

The hotel is situated in a major devel-opment area in the corridor of Satrio In-ternational Shopping Belt, Ciputra World 2 Jakarta on an area of 3.1 hectares. The W Hotel will operate on 1 January 2016. This luxury hotel has 300 rooms and of-fers a contemporary lifestyle through the latest design, nightlife, entertainment and activities that become reference among urban metropolis.

Raffles Hotels & Residences

Raffles Hotels & Residences occupy a location in Ciputra World 1 Jakarta, which is part of the Satrio International Shopping Belt region. Raffles Jakarta will contain

180 rooms with elegant interior design typical of Raffles Hotels & Resorts around the world. Achieve a minimum room size of 60 square meters and 240 square me-ters for the widest type of Raffles Suite.

Raffles Hotels & Resort has been in the world of hospitality for 125 years. It has elite clientele and world celebrity jet-set. Raffles Hotels & Resort has colonial ar-chitectural style, calm, and warm. They’ve been managing properties in the major cities of the world. Besides Jakarta, the newest property located in Hainan (Chi-na) and Istanbul (Turkey).

Rosewood Jakarta

Present in Jakarta in 2017, Rosewood recorded to have managed a luxury hotel in the area of Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. Despite being in the same administrative region, but this time the luxury hotel man-ages properties in the corridor of the Satrio International Shopping Belt, namely Ciputra World Jakarta. Rosewood Hotel features 200 luxurious rooms with outstanding facili-ties. In addition to the hotel, they also man-age 160 units of private apartments.

The Langham

This brand has officially confirmed to operate the property belonging to Agung Sedayu group, District 8 in CBD Sudirman, Jakarta.

In addition to these seven hotels, Ja-karta had already been entered by other ultra luxury brands that include The Lux-ury Collection Hotel (Starwood group), JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Kempinski Ho-tel & Residences, Four Seasons Hotel & Residences, grand Hyatt Hotel, Mandarin oriental Hotel , Le Meridien Hotel, and In-tercontinental Hotel.

While the most awaited brand, Wal-dorf Astoria, which is a network of Hilton Worldwide, has not officially confirmed to operate in Jakarta. (*)

Seven Luxurious Hotels to Build in Jakarta

Agung Laksono as Chairman of the Steering Committee of Sail Komodo 2013 officially released the yacht rally participants as a core activity of Sail Komodo 2013.

The activity took place in Koapan Beach, City of Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province on Sunday (04/08). “Sail Komodo 2013 is full of the spirit of marine development and tourism. It is also to promote NTT as the world’s major tourist destination as well as to develop the cruise ships and yachts sailing routes to Indonesia’s seas,” said Agung.

In an attempt to develop local tourism, said the minister, yacht rally event is very meaningful for it is in line with the mandate of MP3EI (Master Plan for the Acceleration of Indo-nesian Economic Development) for Corridor V, which includes Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

Therefore yacht rally event becomes a core part of the Sail Komodo 2013, and the right entry point for Kupang is the southern gate of Indonesian waters, he added, accompanied by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Minister of Communications, Min-ister for Housing and East Nusa Tenggara governor.

Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Sharif C. Sutardjo added that Sail Komodo 2013 is expected to be a moment to make NTT as a national and international tourist destina-tion, creating The Best Sailing Passage considering its huge potential.

In addition, through Sail Komodo 2013, it is expected that the marine potential and fisheries in the province of East Nusa Tenggara can also be utilized optimally as a source of liveli-hood of the people and sustainable regional development, he added.

Currently the number of yacht rally participants who have entered Indonesian waters reached 106 yachts, from 26 countries. of these, 87 yachts entered through Kupang. The rest goes through Saumlaki, Sangihe, and Tarakan. The fact is strong evidence that the yachters lconsider East Nusa Tenggara to be an area worth a visit because of its diverse tourism potentials.

This year the participation of yachters is managed by three operators, namely Sail Indonesia, Back to Down Under Rally, and Darwin Ambon yacht Race. In 3 to 4 months ahead the yachters are expected to stop in 21 districts / cities and en-joy the exotic nature of NTT in order to provide an immediate impact to the economic growth of communities living in the local area.

It is recorded that more than 100 yachts from various coun-tries have already signed up and this figure is expected to con-tinue growing. The participants of the yachts rally go through four entrances, Saumlaki in West Southeast Maluku regency, Sangihe in North Sulawesi, Tarakan in East Kalimantan prov-ince and Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Activities of yacht Rally Sail Komodo 2013 are basically the same as the previous Sail activities. Experience has shown that the activities of the Sail bring positive impact on the de-velopment of marine tourism. “There are several points that require our attention, namely readiness of the locations for mooring the yachts, customs readiness, immigration, quar-antine, port and the readiness of infrastructure and festivities in the destination and readiness of flag off implementation in Kupang, “he said. (*)

Yatch Rally Sail Komodo 2013

Tigerair Mandala has officially launched Surabaya-Bangkok route. Surabaya is chosen as the capital of East Java is one of Indonesia’s largest cities with a high rate of economic

growth.Surabaya is also a center of business, commerce, industry,

and education in the eastern part of Java, which makes Sura-baya, developed into a metropolis with a population to reach 3 million people. Tigerair Mandala is optimistic and believes that public would welcome Surabaya - Bangkok route destination of-fered.

The inaugural flight of Tigerair Mandala Surabaya-Bangkok route held on Friday, August 2, 2013 was full of surprises. Public Relations Manager Tigerair Mandala, Lucas Suryanata greeted the passengers in the cabin and gave a lucky draw and special souvenir prepared by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. “one of the uniqueness of Tigerair Mandala is the interaction with pas-sengers, either through social media or their appreciation by giv-ing a surprise during the flight,” said Lucas.

Arriving in Bangkok, the crew of Tigerair Mandala welcomed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport with a welcome cer-emony by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The opening of this route is a real form of Tigerair Mandala’s commitment to increase its existence in the Asia Pacific region by offering increasingly diverse destinations for tourists.

Tigerair Mandala is committed to offer affordable fares and friendly service to ensure the application of the highest standards for safety, security, and punctuality. (*)

Tigerair Mandala to Fly Surabaya- Bangkok

People travelling to Jakarta will be spoiled by the presence of double-decker bus. It is a tourist bus with

bright color similar to the logo of Enjoy Jakarta, which serves a short route from Blok M to Monas (the National Museum) as well as from old City to Juanda.

“The double-decker is not only for do-mestic and foreign tourists, but also for public. This facility is free of charge,” said Deputy governor of Jakarta Tjahaja Ba-suki Purnama (Ahok) in Jakarta recently.

The short route used by the bus is on the left lane, said Ahok, so it will not add more traffic congestion. The presence of double-decker even makes hotel and mall livelier. Not only that, this bus also senior citizen-friendly mode of transport.

The buses will have low floor, so that the elderly do not have difficulty while getting on the bus.

It is further explained that as the early stages of the trial, the Provincial govern-ment of Jakarta ordered 5 units of a total 14 buses booked. The double-decker is not included in the bus rapid transit (BRT) such as TransJakarta bus. It is more like a regular public bus, which operates on the left side of the road, or not in the special path of TransJakarta bus.

He added that the price the double-decker is cheaper than TransJakarta bus that worth Rp 4 billion per unit. “Tender for double-decker bus is already running. The price is Rp 2 billion per unit. So the total is Rp 10 billion. We test five buses

first. Whether it will go through Blok M or just going around Sudirman, we shall see later. It seems that the bus is going to use disposable fuel,” he said. (*)

Free Tourist Bus to Serve Monas and the Old City

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17187Vol. I No.1/9 2013 My Indonesia

Bali is still a leading favorite tourist destination in Southeast Asia. The popularity of this island beats

Phuket, Thailand, over the last five years. Bali experiences the growth of foreign tourist arrivals by 8 percent to more than 2.7 million people.

Research by Horwarth HTL Asia warned that Bali must remain vigilant and improve itself given that although Phuket is under the shadow of Bali, this tourist area is ex-periencing substantial growth after being attacked by the wave of political issues. Its growth in 2010 was 44 percent higher than 2009 and continued in 2011, which rose by 30 percent.

The increase eliminates the gap be-tween the two favorite tourist destinations and makes them rivals. In addition, the infrastructure problems contributed to the slowdown in the growth rate of the tour-ism industry in Bali.

Horwarth research also showed growth in the rapid construction of accommoda-tion facilities (hospitality) that have con-tributed to the decline in the occupancy rate by 5 percent from June 2012 to 69 percent in the same period this year.

While the average daily rate (ADR) has increased 5 per cent year on year to 137 U.S. dollars (Rp1.4 million).

Thus, during the period 2008-2012, Bali recorder the average ADR growth rate as high as 9 percent to an annual increase of 7 percent. A plus segment or luxury hotels is the most affected sector by the world economic crisis. This segment showed the lowest growth rate compared to other segments.

That trend began in 2008 when the ADR slid freely to the lowest rate, while the oc-cupancy rate started to increase in 2010. A segment plus back up in 2011. Although the performance of ADR is now 5 percent lower than the same period last year, but the average ADR increased 4 percent.

In contrast, the occupancy rate actually improved 5 percent during the first half of this year than last year with ADR grew by 6 percent.

While the hotel segment B provides its own challenges related to the large amount of new supply coming into the market. This causes the drop in the oc-cupancy rate by 7 percent and 1 percent of ADR than the first half of 2012.

What about the hotel segment C? year 2011 is the best time for hotel C in Bali. ADR surge about 21 percent even though the occupancy rate continues to drop as much as 4 percent. Likewise, the rates experienced a sharp correction.

Regionally, the highest occupancy rate was achieved by Kuta areas and the South Beach of Bali such as Tuban, Legian and Seminyak. It was then fol-lowed by Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa. Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa are known as a resort area with a high density.

While other areas such as Ubud is still a bit isolated, with a relatively more difficult access to reach and still less crowded in terms of hotel development. Thus, Ubud is likely still viewed as an extra special destination.

Even so, in terms of occupancy, Ubud is on the top position leading Jimbaran. Tariffs applied in both areas are about 200 U.S. dollars (Rp 2.05 million) to 300 U.S. dollars (Rp3.07 million) per night. Positive trend is also shown in the hotel segment D. Its ADR rose 16 percent in 2010 and was likely to continue to grow until 2012, or grow 7 percent on an annual basis. (*)

Bali is Top Destination in South East Asia

Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) proposes four cities in Indonesia, namely yogyakarta, Solo,

Bandung, and Pekalongan as creative cities to UNESCo.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Mari Elka Pangestu said that the ministry have sent the proposal to the UNESCo and appointed a consultant. It is expected to be processed this year and could be announced next year. The Creative Cities Network was launched by UNESCo in october 2004 through a rigorous selection to various cities, which vie as a creative city in the world.

“I hope that the four cities in Indonesia can be included in the creative cities network of UNESCO with various benefits of information exchange as well as promotion in it. This is one of our efforts to encourage the cities in Indone-sia to work hard to prepare infrastructure both physical and nonphysical to be a creative city known worldwide, “said Mari Pangestu in Ja-karta.

Mari said that UNESCo categorizes creative city into two categories namely crafts-based creative city and design-based creative city. By joining the Creative Cities Network, the pro-posed cities can learn from other creative cities that have already become developed cities in the world.

“The point is that UNESCo will assess the urban planning concept, whether it supports the creativity of the community and whether or not the city has built physical and non-physical infrastructure. For example, in a number of cit-ies that are considered eligible to propose as a creative city, such as Solo, every weekend, the roads are closed to create a creative space for

the community, “she said.Mari added that the city also holds exhibi-

tions, giving SMEs the opportunity to exhibit, perform performance art, even providing a free license for SMEs. In essence, UNESCo

will assess the presence or absence of a clus-tered creative program from upstream to down-stream in a city.

“In the future, in addition to the four cities, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

will propose other cities in Indonesia to be en-dorsed by UNESCo as Creative Cities Net-work. Based on our current research, cities that can be developed into Creative Cities are Bali, Malang, and Surabaya, “she said. (*)

Indonesia Proposes Creative Cities to UNESCO

Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) support the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) to build 21 new botanical

gardens all over the country, as an alternative tourist destination and flora conservation.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu said that she appreciates the effort and will sup-port the development of 21 new botanical gardens, so it can be a destination for tourists as well as the conserva-tion of flora. LIPI is seeking to build 21 new botanical gar-dens across the country.

“A total of 21 botanic gardens will add to the list of bo-tanical gardens in Indonesia. Currently, there are four bo-tanical gardens in the country. Besides serving as tourist destination of flora, the existence of botanical garden at its core will be a land for the conservation of endangered spe-cies in Indonesia that can maintain the diversity of plants in Indonesia, “said Mari Pangestu.

Mari said that Indonesia has wide range of plant spe-cies. Any country in the world would want to have a botani-cal garden and variety of flora that are known worldwide.

Meanwhile, Head of Plant Conservation Center LIPI Bo-gor Botanical gardens Mustaid Siregar said as a country with a variety of flora, Indonesia is far behind other coun-tries in terms of number of botanical gardens. “We have only four botanical gardens over the past 45 years, and only one of them was built by Indonesian, which is Bo-tanical garden in Bali. In America there are 300 botanical gardens and Brazil has 40 botanical gardens. We are far behind, “he said.

He added, in building 21 new botanical gardens, LIPI will focus on Western Indonesia first, because there are many cases of deforestation or deforestation in that region.

“The development of botanical gardens needs support from the local governments and communities, especially related to land acquisition problems, for the sake of green-ing and maintaining the continuity of flora,” said Mustaid. (*)

21 New Botanical Gardens to be set up in Indonesia

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Mari Elka Pangestu

Dreamland Beach in Bali

Coconut trees offer rich benefits to our life, as every part of these trees can give us a certain use. Talaga Spa devotes a ritual treatment

known as ‘all about coconut’, which essentially is an inherited tradition from our ancestors. This treatment will reveal the magical secret of coconut trees believed to be very beneficial for healing, maintaining health and for balancing energy.

The Talaga Spa treatment Starts with a fresh co-conut welcome drink to clean and balance the ion in our body, followed with virgin coconut oil body scrub mixed with blend of coconut flesh and shreds to lift and get rid off died skin cells and to make your skin smooth and glow. After your body is clean, then the tired painful knots of our muscles will loosen when we apply special Talaga herbal compress, followed with Balinese ‘urut’ (traditional massage) using the warm

virgin coconut oil (VCo). This VCo will make the en-ergy transfer from our therapist to our customer run smoothly.

The VCo is proven to be a good and fast medium to transfer energy. The Balinese ‘urut’ is a fusion of myofascia massage to disentangle or loosen individ-ual fiber of the muscles that get entangled or become stiff. This can be achieved also with the application of deep tissue massage and trigger point massage on the body parts where pain and tiredness are felt. Before and after massage, our therapist will perform healing touch and chakra cleansing to harmonize the energy between our therapist and the customer in order to stimulate self-healing in the part of the cus-tomer. Finally a warm drink of pure coconut sugar will be offered to boost the energy and the vitality of the refreshed customers. ***

The Magical Secret of Coconuts at Talaga Spa

Vasanti Seminyak Resort brings an element of tropical sophistication to the urban village of Petitenget.

This stylish retreat is a contemporary interpretation of Bali’s evolving design ethos with 121 elegant rooms and suites to satisfy the needs of modern travellers. Vasanti Seminyak Resort embraces living life to the fullest with wining and dining facilities as well as a spa for personal indulgence. This is luxury private hotels.

Vasanti Seminyak Resort is located in the village of Petitenget, which is a 25 minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport. It is an area that is fully attuned to Bali’s evolving tourism industry but still manages to retain its cultural roots and daily religious practices. Petitenget still has productive rice terraces and is known for a revered temple by the beach for followers

of the Hindu faith. Nearby sites of interest include:

Everyone to know, Seminyak is a popu-lar lifestyle district that is the melting pot for travellers from all walks of life. It is a veri-table playground for enthusiastic shoppers where the streets are teeming with bou-tiques, galleries and spas. Some of Bali’s best restaurants and after-dark hotspots are located in Seminyak to wine and dine away the evening in style.

The nearby Batu Belig Beach is a popu-lar hangout for travellers and locals alike for a fun day of sun, sea and surf. An ar-ray of makeshift food stalls sell cold drinks and inexpensive snacks while the Mosaic Beach Club has a restaurant and sunset lounge for fine dining and poolside tapas.

you can go to Petitenget Beach. The Beach is named after a historical Hindu

temple complex that dates back to the 15th century and hosts ritualistic ceremonies by the beach. The beach is a pleasant spot relax and enjoy the sunset with a vast ex-panse of grey sand stretching in both direc-tions. A large car park accommodates pri-vate vehicles and the adjacent La Lucciola restaurant is a favourite brunch spot on the Seminyak dining scene.

Don’t forget to go at Seminyak Square. Its is a multi-faceted lifestyle venue with a great range of shops, restaurants and ca-fes catering to the needs of modern travel-lers. There’s a well-stocked book store for international novels and magazines. And a gourmet grocery store sells tasty snacks and all the essentials from home. A week-end market brings Seminyak Square to life with colourful stalls filled with exotic jewel-lery, handicrafts and resort wear. ***

Welcome to Vasanti - Seminyak Resort Bali

8 Vol. I No.1/9 2013Bali

17189Vol. I No.1/9 2013 Events & Destination

The winner of the photography and blog writing competition with the theme of “Exploring the lands of Papua” held by Adira Face

of Indonesia has returned from Wamena. They also shared impressive experience during their visit to Papua. End of April 2013, Adira Finance through the program of Adira Face of Indonesia held photography and writing competition. The winners are invited to Wamena, Papua.

Adira Faces of Indonesia program lasted from 24 April until June 7, 2013. The judging process have been carried out involving independent judges, which include presenter, travel blogger, and a diver, Marischka Prudence, and Adira management representative.

Six winners are chosen based on the assess-ment result from the jury and vote from the pub-lic. In the photography category, the winners are I gusti Ngurah Agung Parawira with the theme of “Menuju Pura “, Raiyani Muharramah with the theme of “gebug Ende”, and Aditya Rahman Arif with the theme of “The Beauty of Dreamland Beach”. Meanwhile, for the writing category, the winners are Bayu Made Winata titled “Berkun-jung ke Ke’Te’Kesu” (Visiting Ke’Te’Kesu), Danan Wahyu Sumirat with “Firasat Wae Rebo” (Hunch of Wae Rebo), and Nurkholis with “Panorama Lembah di Payakumbuh” (Valley Panorama in Payakumbuh).

The six winners of Adira Faces of Indonesia “Explore the Lands of Papua” is entitled to the prize offered in the form of a package trip to Wa-mena, Papua. They also have enjoyed this spe-cial gift on 18 -23 June 2013. For 5 days 4 nights, the winners were invited to explore and enjoy the exoticism of Wamena. They did various activities such as visiting the beautiful Baliem Valley, inter-

acting directly with the native tribes of Wamena, and Watching the Lake Sentani Festival 2013.

This event was organized by Adira Faces of Indonesia as one of the real commitment and contribution to promote the natural beauty and diverse cul-tures of Indone-sia. “Having been es-t a b -

l i s h e d since the end of April, through this opportunity, Adira Finance officially informed that the program ‘Explore the Lands of Papua’ has ended. We are happy to have provided an opportunity for the winners to enjoy an unforget-table experience to Wamena “, said Willy Su-wandi Dharma, President Director-Chief Execu-tive Officer of PT Adira Multi Finance in Jakarta recently.

This event is expected to continue to foster a sense of love and pride among the people of In-

donesia towards the cultural diversity and natu-ral beauty of the country. In addition, Adira Face of Indonesia continues to stimulate the lovers of Indonesian tourism and travelers to be able to

capture their experiences in a form of inspiring writing and

photos.“This is an

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in my life to have the

opportunity to visit to Papua with its beautiful

and exotic nature, culture, and the people are very interesting. Visiting Papua is cer-tainly not an easy task and requires a very high cost, especially for us, individual traveling lovers. Papua province is located in the eastern end of Indonesia and rather difficult to reach it due to the infrastructure facilities, which are not as per-fect as other provinces in Indonesia, “said Made Bayu Winata, one of the participants Explore the Lands of Papua. (*)

Unforgettable Experience of Exploring the land of Papua

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu in her working visit to Italy visited Indonesia Pavilion participating in the ‘55th International Art Exhibition

of the Venice Biennale ‘or better known as “The Venice Biennale 2013” in the city of Venice, Italy.

In the exhibition of the oldest, largest and most prestigious con-temporary art works in the world, Indonesia Pavilion featured the best of contemporary art works of five Indonesian artists, namely Sri Astari (sculpture - Dancing the Wild Sea), Albert yonathan Set-yawan (Cosmic labyrinth: a Silent Pathway), Entang Wiharso (The Indonesian: No Time To Hide), Eko Nugroho (Instigator), and Ti-tarubi (Shadow of Surrender) under the theme of “Milky” which de-scribes the strong creative energy, divine, invincible and can reach more than ordinary human, exhibited to illustrate the diversity of Indonesian contemporary art to the world.

Mari considered the participation of Indonesia at the Venice Bi-ennale has strategic value to introduce and promote one of In-donesia’s creative economy that now is being developed, namely

Indonesia’s world class contemporary art. Let’s hope through the exhibition of contemporary art we can show that Indonesia is the subject of world art practice that is taken into account.

“Fine art is a part of the creative economy that gives a consider-able contribution to the Indonesian economy and the welfare of the perpetrators. It’s time for us to bring Indonesian art to the world and show the potential of Indonesia in the creative economy sec-tor. Also through the Venice Biennale art exhibition, we can attract more tourists to visit Indonesia. “The most important thing is to increase Indonesia’s image as a country that has the power of art and creativity, and diplomacy through art is a” soft power “that is incredibly strong” Mari said.

Some works displayed in the Indonesian pavilion have received positive responses from collectors and international art gallery owners in the form of a desire to collect the works displayed.

Indonesian pavilion involves Soedarmadji Damais as commis-sioner and Achille Bonito oliva as Deputy Commissioner, Carla Bianpoen and Rifky Effendy as curator, and produced by PT.Bumi Purnati Indonesia led by Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum col-laboration with Change Performing Arts (Indonesian-Italian). Due to her participation in Venice Biennale, Sri Astari received an in-vitation to exhibit her work in another prestigious festival in Italy, Spoleto Festival.

Andrea Del Mercato, the Director general of the Venice Bien-nale, who welcomed and accompanied Menparekraf visit to Ven-ice Biennale exhibition said that the Indonesian Pavilion is one of the favorite Pavilions at Venice Biennale 2013 because it reflects the Indonesian identity and attracted much attention.

The exhibition, which lasted for six months from June 1 until the end of November 2013 will be visited by millions of fans of the world of art, including tourists who come to the city of Venice that every year reaches tens of millions of travelers. The presence of Indonesian pavilion this time is expected to improve Indonesia’s image as a country that excels in the art of contemporary culture due to a strong cultural heritage base and exceptional creativity. Positive impact expected from the participation in this event apart from direct benefit to the participating artists is the increase of tour-ist visit to Indonesia. (*)

venice Biennale: Strategic Event for Promoting Indonesia’s Creative Economy

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171813Vol. I No.1/9 2013 Events & Destination

In celebration of the Indonesia’s 68th Independence Day on 17 August 2013, a grand Cultural Parade was held on 18 August, featuring 4,000 artists from 33 provinces consisting of musicians,

singers, and dancers.“After a three year break, this year’s parade was held spectacu-

larly. There are 33 provinces and a number of state-owned enter-prises that showcased uniqueness, tradition, and creativity from around this culturally diverse archipelago. It is a grand event of performing arts. There are more than 4,000 artists who took part there ranging from musicians, singers, dancers, and many more, “said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pang-estu in Jakarta recently.

Mari added that the participating artists in a variety of colorful costumes would showcase the uniqueness, traditions, creativity, and cultural wealth of each region. Indonesia is very rich in cultural activities or carnival parades which take place in various areas. So, not surprisingly, Indonesia is also called “The Land of 1000 Carnivals.”

“That’s because there are so many and diverse parades and carnivals with all the attributes, uniqueness, and traditions of each region that will not be found in other countries,” she said.

National Cultural Parade which takes place every August 18 is expected to be the highlight of the parade and carnival activities in various areas. “The content is very rich, we only need to improve

the organizational administration, the quality of contemporary per-forming arts through the carnival, and publication so that carnivals in various regions in the country can be annual agenda,” said Mari Pangestu.

This year, some areas showcased the best of art and artists in their region. The contingent from gorontalo performed “Mopoyi-tohu Elengge,” a tradition in the agricultural community in pounding rice, which is expressed with cheerfully and happily.

Participants from East Kalimantan showcased “Bening Hutan Wehea”, which is a dance called for awareness of forests for the survival of earth and humans.

Meanwhile, the West Papuan contingent presented “Afo Refe, Engge and Selawa Dance,” three dances depicting the ritual pro-cess of learning about things that are sacred to the boys. Con-tingent of North Maluku Province performed “Soya-Soya Dance “ which describes the spirit of the struggle against colonialism in the past in its development, this dance functioned for welcoming guests.

Jakarta as the host of the event presented “Saujana Jakarta”, a local tradition of ondel-ondel combined with the assimilation of the local traditions and culture of China, and the West in the form of Betawi dance and music called Tanjidor. “Harmonization of the show depicts people of Jakarta who are open and tolerant of differ-ence and diversity,” she said.

Member of Artistic Team of National Cultural Parade 2013 Har-tati said this event featuring miniature of the diversity of art and the cultural richness of Indonesia.

According to her, the parade aims to foster creativity of perfor-mance art in the form of carnival, increase public appreciation of the arts and culture of Indonesia, create a wave of creativity, and create an event that becomes an icon of the creative economy, performing arts, as tourist attraction.

“Through this carnival, it is expected that Indonesian people be-come more familiar with the arts and cultural diversity across prov-inces in Indonesia, to grow a sense of pride and the increasing love of art and culture of Indonesia, and further strengthen the unity and integrity of the nation,” said Hartati.

Jury selected 10 best performers based on several selection cri-teria such as the concept of the performance, creativity, and overall team performance.

National Cultural Parade 2013 was held at the National Monu-ment Jakarta and the route was started from the North Zone of Mo-nas towards Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara where participants walked towards the Presidential Palace.

This event is expected to represent the richness of local cultural heritage at the national level creatively, which is tilled and packed by the creativity of the artist, by considering the issue of assimila-tion and development in the community. (*)

Jember Fashion Carnival (JFC) was held again in 2013, on 23-25 August 2013 in Jember, East Java. The carnival was originally just a simple fashion week, held in Jember town

square. However, the idea emerged from a designer Fariz Dynand, an educator in the field of fashion as well as living in Jember, to change the fashion week into a big carnival and now known as the Jember Fashion Carnival.

Implementation of the JFC was first paired the anniversary of Jember city. It has now been developed with world fashion trend-oriented wrapped in the charms of Indonesian culture.

Since it was first held in 2003, Jember Fashion Carnival contin-ues under the spotlight of the international media for it is the fourth largest carnival in the world after the Mardi grass in New orleans in the United States, Rio De Janeiro Carnival in Brazil, and Fast-natch Koln in germany.

The carnival will make a highway in the city as a 3.6km-catwalk. This catwalk is among the longest in the world where a window of life of hundreds of masterpieces in the form of a spectacular haute couture designs rooted in Indonesian culture are featured.

Jember Fashion Carnival this year brought up the theme of “ArTechsion” that was divided into ten sub-themes, namely: Tribe, Tibet, Betawi, octpus, Bamboo, Art Deco, Canvas, Beetle, Spider, and Venice. JFC participants coming from various backgrounds

and ages from all over the archipelago, they generally are artists, designers, world fashion observer, fashion lovers, models, and students.

Applying the concept of 4E, namely Education, Entertainment, Exhibition and Economy Benefit, JFC brought more than 650 participants who would be walking the catwalk along 3.6 km from Central Park to the Jember Sport Hall.

Participants designed, built and demonstrated their own cos-tumes as well as make up and hair styling. Participants would re-ceive in-house training on fashion design, fashion run way, dance, presenter, singer, makeup, and hair style at no charge.

on the day, participants were placed in each sub theme they’ve chosen. This carnival was also more festive with the presence of an Opening Defile in a form of Live Performing Art from JFC March-ing Band. There was also an Archipelago Defile with the theme of traditional clothing from various provinces in Indonesia, which in-cluded Java, Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and others.

In addition to pre-determined sub-themes, participants could display their imaginative works in the form of clothing from certain country, certain groups, movie, event or occurrence, animation and others. All clothing presented in the JFC certainly competed for the award for the category of JFC Award, Special Award, Best Perfor-mance, Best Costume, Unique Costume, and Other Costume. (*)

“ArTechsion” in Jember Fashion Carnival 2013

33 Provinces to Participate in National Cultural Paradeph

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1814 Vol. I No.1/9 2013Events & Destination

The government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) in collaboration with

“Indonesia Coffee Festival Management” will hold “Indonesian Coffee Festival 2013” in yogyakarta on 14-15 September 2013. “This is one of our efforts to promote Indonesian coffee so that it can be loved more in its own country,” said the director of “Indonesian Coffee Festival” (ICF) yanthi Tambunan in Jakarta recently.

In addition, the event also involves the Com-munity of Indonesian Specialty Coffee that is expected to raise the pride of coffee farmers in Indonesia.

She added that ICF is expected to popularize superior coffee product produced by Indonesia to be more well known, both inside and outside the country. “This event is also one of the original Indonesian coffee branding efforts such as the civet coffee and kopi tubruk or known as “mud

coffee,” she said.ICF is also expected to become media for cre-

ating a mutually beneficial relationship among the coffee industry players that include farmers, traders, manufacturers, and exporters of coffee in Indonesia and abroad.

The series of activities of ICF 2013 in yogya-karta on September 14 to 15 2013 will introduce some of the best Indonesian coffee as a supe-rior product like Aceh coffee, Flores coffee, Java coffee, Lampung coffee, Bali coffee, kopi luwak (civet coffee), Toraja coffee, and Papua coffee.

Each coffee has its own uniqueness in terms of the management and presentation so it is ex-pected to become a culinary tourism attraction as part of special interest tourism. “This effort will automatically lift the coffee-producing regions in Indonesia, which has the potential to be an agro-tourism region, so that ecotourism can be achieved,” she said.

Last year, a similar festival was held in Ubud, gianyar, Bali, and this year the theme of the an-nual festival is Tubruk Coffee, The Local Life-style. This theme is expected to lift Indonesian local wisdom.

This year’s festival will also promote Indone-sian specialty coffee in order to be the primadona of the world through the provision of space for the coffee industry to pay a visit to a local single origin coffee plantation, an international business forum, barista workshop, roasting workshop, latte art demonstration, roast coffee, and coffee talk.

85% Coffee Exports Absorbed by the US Market

On the same occasion, Zulfikar, staff at the Di-rectorate general of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce said exports of Indonesian coffee from year to year, as many as 85 percent of which is absorbed by the U.S. market as one of the coun-tries with high levels of coffee consumption.

In 2012, Directorate of Foreign Trade recorded that Indonesia’s coffee exports reached 320 tons or up 8 percent compared to last year. According to him, the potential of the U.S. market is one of the largest although in the world level the U.S. is not the largest coffee consumer.

He pointed out that the U.S. population is around 320 million people and if 200 million of which drink two cups of coffee per day, the number of coffee consumption in the U.S. is very large.

Directorate of Foreign Trade encourages cof-

fee centers in the country to improve its produc-tivity, especially in terms of technology. “For if it is compared with the productivity of other countries, our production is still very low,” he said.

Indonesian coffee production is predicted to still in the level of 1 tons per hectare, while Viet-nam has reached 4 tons per hectare. “We can increase the production for there are still a lot of land that can be utilized,” he said. (*)

Promoting Indonesian Coffee through “Indonesian Coffee Festival 2013”

Cenderawasih Bay National Park (TNTC) offers stunning nature charms. TNTC is the largest marine national park in Indonesia,

with an area of approximately 1,453,500 hectares.

TNTC consists of land and a beautiful coastline, islands, coral reefs, and the crystal clear blue sea that will undoubtedly make you feel comfortable staying there. TNTC water is also home to about 36 species of birds, 196 species of mollusks, 150 species of coral and 209 species of fish. There are four protected turtles live this park, namely the hawksbill turtle, green turtle, olive ridley turtles and leatherback turtles. Dolphins and sharks are also frequently seen in the waters of TNTC.

one of the exotic places that must be visited by tourists in the area of TNTC is Mangguar Bay. At this bay, there is an underwater cave with a depth of 100 feet which is a prehistoric natural cave.

Misowaar Island is another exotic paradise fa-mous for its hot springs that contain sulfur without

salinity and waterfalls. on the island, tourists can dive, snorkel, observe wildlife and enjoy culture tourism with the local community.

There is also Rumberpon Island, which has many things that can be explored. There are various types of birds on this island. Besides that, Rumberpon Island also serves as a breeding area for deer and here tourists can enjoy the natural beauty of the island by diving and snorkeling. on the seabed of Rumberpon Island, we can find the framework of Japanese fighter that crashed in the sea. Nusrowi Island is an ideal place for diving, snorkeling, and marine tourism activities as well as watching the animals that live in the island.

other interesting spots that should not be missed are yoop and Widesi islands where tour-ists can directly watch whales and dolphins that often appear in this area.

Something unique about Roon Island is the ex-istence of yende village, where many Christians visit the village church of yende only to look at

the scriptures published in 1898. After visiting the church, it would be great to relax a bit by doing water sports such as snorkeling, watching a va-riety of birds, enjoying the cool waterfall and the local culture.

Access to TNTC is quite easy and not so far from the city center. If you depart from Manokwari, you can continue to the TNTC using motor boats with the distance of around 95 km. While those coming from Nabire can go to TNTC using a mo-tor boat with a travel distance of 38 km in about 3 hours.

Travelers do not need to spend much money to travel to the Cenderawasih Bay National Park. The admission is Rp. 1,500/person for domestic tour-ists and Rp. 15,000 / person for foreign tourists. Tourism activities in this park are ranging from Rp. 15,000.00 to 40.000/person for domestic tourists, and Rp. 25,000 to Rp. 50,000 / person for foreign tourists depending on the activities taken. (*)

Exploring the beauty of Cenderawasih Bay

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For centuries, East Flores is known for its Easter Holy Week or popularly known as Semana Santa. The ritual is inherited from

the Portuguese people and maintained until now by the people of East Flores. over the past few years, the ritual has been designed into a religious tourism, which attract the interest of visitors from all over the world.

Actually, East Flores offers more tourism po-tentials other than Semana Santa. There are various tourist attractions that can be developed and interesting to explore. Therefore, some times ago Flores DMo in cooperation with Swisscon-tact invited a number of medias to conduct a Fam Trip to East Flores. The trip lasted from May 20 to 24, 2013. It was followed by seven local and international media.

The trip was mainly focused on East Flores where upon arrival at the Frans Seda Airport Maumere participants were welcomed with an impressive dance performed by Sanggar Doka Tawa Tana. The journalists were splashed with water as part of a ritual especially carried out to invite the ancestors’ spirit to join the welcome ceremony and give their blessings to the guests.

The dance was not the only highlight that day as more performances were waiting at sunset. The participants were enthusiastic to see the performance held in Sea World Club Beach & Diving Resort, a beach-front hotel they stayed in. They even took part during in Lero, a dance to celebrate planting season. The night was fun and entertaining, that the dancing on the beach with the locals and traditional music was one of the most memorable experiences for most par-ticipants.

The second day was spent by exploring East Flores. The trip was started in the morning when the participants were heading to Larantuka. Be-fore that, they paid a short visit to Kawaliwu, a traditional village where we can appreciate a traditional ikat weaving. The religious heritage tour began with a visit to Waibalun Island that is reachable within a short distance from the town of Larantuka. A huge statue of Jesus Christ be-comes the landmark of the site.

Diving is recommended to do in this island as the water is very clear with an amazing under-water life. Some of the journalists regret for not bringing underwater camera. After Waibalun Is-land, Larantuka city tour followed with a visit to Cathedral Reinha Rosari and Kapela Mgr gabriel Manek on the highlight. The day tour finished with a dinner hosted by the Regent of Flores Timur.

Island hopping to Watotena or Ina Burak Beach and Mekobani Island also called Pulau Watan

Peni was the menu of the 3rd day. The trip was an amazing blend of local tradition, religion, and magnificent panorama of Flores Timur and Adon-ara Island. All the participants were excited with the journey that some of them were even eager to stay overnight in the small island.

While the sun and the sea rivaled to enchant the participants with their beauty, Maria Loretha’s alluring charm won everybody’s heart that on the last day they decided to revisit Kanariblolong, a farm traditionally run by her. The lady from Kali-mantan who married to a Florenese, has inspired many people with her idea and movement of pre-serving the almost gone-local crops – jewawut, etc – to reduce dependency upon rice and re-placing it with local crops that is more nutritious.

Flores media trip 2013 was a great success. It was an amazing journey exploring Flores Timur’s religious heritage, local culture, and nature tour-ism potential. The participants happily shared their feedback and recommendations before re-turning home. Flores DMo wishes to thank TMo of Flores Timur, especially to Mr. Aloysius Kedang (Chairman of TMo Flores Timur), Dinas Pariwisa-ta Flores Timur, and the Regent of Flores Timur for their support and assistance. Big thanks also go to all the participants that have been really co-operative during the trip, the local communities that have made the trip so impressive, and all the sponsors. See you in the next trip.

virgin Beaches

one of the most beautiful virgin beaches Flores Timur has is Watotena in Adonara, an island in the eastern of Flores, reachable by 2.5 hour-sailing from Larantuka. Bedalewun, the village where it lies is at the foot of Mount Ile Boleng.

Watotena is well-known for its white sand beach and the magma stones adorned the shore. The dark greyish almost black rocks in various shapes give Watotena’s shorelines a unique im-pression that differentiates it from those found in Adonara or Flores mainland. The crystal clear water and the pearly sand beach are the rea-sons to visit Watotena. Bamboo huts are avail-able to enjoy the beach landscape with the view of Lembata and Solor Island at the background. The panorama brings charm and an incredible impression of Watotena beach.

According to Aloysius Kedang, the chairman of Flores Timur Tourism Management organisation (TMo), every weekend or holiday season many visitors who are in majority locals - flock and spend time at Watotena. guests coming with a

minivan should pay Rp. 20,000 for ticket.How to get there: Take a boat from Larantuka

and disembark at Terong or Waiwerang harbor in Adonara. on the way from Larantuka to Wa-totena, you can enjoy the magnificent panorama of numerous islands around Flores Timur such as Solor and Lembata. Watotena is 6KM from Waiwerang port. It takes about 30 minutes from Waiwerang to Watotena beach.

In total, you will need around 3 hours to get to Watotena from Larantuka port. But when the beach so stunning waits at the end of your jour-ney, it will be worth taking the time.

East Flores Offers more than just Semana Santa

171815Vol. I No.1/9 2013 East Flores

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Sunrise

Ikat weaving

Watotena Beach

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Pengembang kelas kakap semakin serius menggarap pasar hotel ekonomi dengan tarif terjangkau yang bi-asa dikenal dengan hotel bujet. Hal ini didasari geliat

pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam negeri, yang makin stabil seh-ingga menjadikan kegiatan traveling terus meningkat.

Menjamurnya hotel-hotel bertarif ekonomis atau disebut juga budget hotel (hotel bujet) menjadi magnet di belantara industri perhotelan. Hotel ramah anggaran ini mulai dikelola dengan baik dan berfasilitas lengkap.

Hal ini sejalan dengan tingginya aktivitas bisnis dan tingkat kunjungan wisata, berkat perekonomian yang bisa dibilang makin kondusif. Pelaku hospitality industry dan pengembang properti mulai sadar, hotel adalah bisnis yang mengutama-kan servis.

Dengan terminologi seperti itu, mereka tidak lagi menya-jikan layanan dan fasilitas hotel seadanya. Perspektif mer-eka mulai berubah dengan memberikan kualitas lebih baik dalam pengelolaan. Mereka juga sadar pangsa pasar hotel ekonomi sedang sangat besar.

“gurihnya” bisnis hotel jenis ini juga yang membuat Accor, operator hotel internasional terbesar di Asia Pasifik dan Indo-nesia, mengumumkan proses re-positioning keluarga Hotel Ibis di Indonesia yaitu Ibis Styles/all seasons (brand ekonomi premium), Ibis (brand ekonomi), dan Ibis budget (brand pre-mium-budget). Ini menjadikan brand keluarga Ibis semakin kokoh dan memberi arti baru bagi kenyamanan menginap.

Adi Satria, Regional Director of Sales, Marketing & Dis-tribution, Accor Malaysia-Indonesia-Singapore, mengatakan, dalam membangun kembali keluarga Hotel Ibis, Accor meng-kaji secara detail produk hotel ekonominya dan mendefinisi-kan ulang pengalaman tamu hotel di keluarga Hotel Ibis.

“Strategi ini untuk menjawab harapan harapan dari para tamu hotel kami. Mereka sekarang menginginkan brand yang modern, kontemporer, dan stylish yang juga memiliki tanggung jawab sosial dan lingkungan,” katanya di Jakarta.

Karena itu, menurut dia, brand harus memberikan pen-galaman yang dapat memenuhi kebutuhan emosional dan sensorik, termasuk di kategori brand hotel ekonomi. Untuk mewujudkan hal tersebut, pihaknya memperkenalkan Sweet Bed di keluarga Hotel Ibis, sebuah revolusi dalam teknologi tempat tidur.

Fakta sekitar 70% tamu hotel menempatkan tempat tidur yang nyaman sebagai faktor yang sangat krusial ketika mer-eka memilih hotel ekonomi, mendorong Accor untuk mencip-takan konsep tempat tidur eksklusif berjuluk “Sweet Bed” di Ibis, Ibis Styles, dan Ibis budget untuk memberikan kenya-manan yang tidak tertandingi kepada para tamu hotel.

Sebuah komite khusus yang terdiri atas tim operasional Accor, para ahli yang mempelajari bagaimana tidur yang baik dan periset independen bekerja sama mengembangkan konsep tempat tidur. Hal ini untuk pertama kalinya sebuah grup hotel membuat perubahan besar dari sisi tempat tidur.

“Tempat tidur generasi baru ini didesain sesuai dengan ke-biasaan tidur para tamu sehari-hari. Pada tahap pertama ini, sekitar 1.000 tempat tidur baru di keluarga Hotel Ibis di selu-ruh Indonesia akan diperbarui hingga 2013,” tutur Adi.

Accor juga memperkenalkan area publik baru yang diran-cang ulang sepenuhnya di Hotel Ibis dan Ibis budget. Lokasi ini menawarkan pengalaman hotel yang unik dengan brand dan layanan yang berfokus pada kenyamanan.

Kini, ruang publik tersebut merupakan area modern yang luas yang mengombinasikan gaya dan warna untuk mencip-takan suasana hangat dan santai yang menciptakan inter-aksi dan keramahan.

Ini sesuai harapan baru para tamu hotel, kini interior dan perabotan yang stylish di area publik tidak lagi hanya dapat dirasakan di hotel upscale, namun juga dapat ditemui di ho-tel ekonomi. Desain baru yang pertama ini dapat dilihat di beberapa keluarga Hotel Ibis yang telah dibuka seperti di Ibis budget Surabaya Airport.

Pengembang kakap lain yang mulai melirik pengemban-gan jaringan hotel bujet adalah PT Ciputra Property Tbk. Ta-hun ini budget hotel yang pertama dibangun perusahaan ini berlokasi di Cirebon, menyusul yogyakarta, Semarang, dan Bandung.

Di Cirebon, jaringan hotel bujet bernama Citra Dream su-dah ground breaking pada Desember 2012 lalu dan ditar-getkan mulai beroperasi pada 2014. Cirebon dipilih karena potensi industri pariwisata yang terus berkembang. Citra Dream Cirebon dibangun di atas lahan seluas 1.600 meter persegi. (*)

Hotel Bujet di Kota Besar Kian Menjamur

1816 Vol. I No.1/9 2013Nusantara

Kelanjutan pembangunan patung garuda Wisnu Kencana (gWK) di kawasan Jimbaran, Kabupaten

Badung, Bali, merangkul investor lokal yakni Alam Sutra dengan kepemilikan saham 97 persen, dimulai pada Agustus 2013. “Batu fondasi sebagai tanda pembangunan kembali patung akan ditata sekitar 300 meter di selatan lokasi patung yang ada sekarang,” kata pematung Nyoman Nuarta sebagai inisiator pembangunan gWK.

Nuarta bertekad merampungkan pem-bangunan megaproyek yang sempat mangkrak itu dalam waktu tiga tahun mendatang untuk menjadi “landmark” pariwisata Indonesia di abad modern. “Dengan dilanjutkannya kembali pem-bangunan megaproyek tersebut, gWK seolah dilahirkan kembali. Peletakan batu pertama fondasi patung dilakukan pada 23 Agustus 2013,” ujar Nuarta.

Upaya itu menyangkut beberapa komit-men penting, antara lain sejak peletakan batu pertama pembangunan gWK pada Minggu, 8 Juni 1997, 16 tahun silam, pembangunan patung monumental ini terhenti beberapa tahun akibat berbagai hambatan.

Pihaknya, menurut Nuarta, hanya mampu membangun bagian dada, dan kepala tanpa tangan Wisnu. Meskipun, kawasan gWK sebagai “cultural park” su-dah sebagian besar berhasil diselesaikan. Kawasan gWK saat ini menjadi destinasi wisata baru yang mampu menarik kunjun-

gan wisatawan mancanegara sebanyak 2.000 hingga 3.000 orang setiap hari.

Nyoman Nuarta menambahkan, pa-tung Wisnu yang belum selesai seba-gaimana yang terdapat sekarang tetap akan dibiarkan seperti sedia kala. Tubuh dan kepala Wisnu di kawasan gWK kini sudah menjadi bagian dari sejarah per-jalanan kebudayaan Indonesia dan Bali pada khususnya.

Demikian juga pembangunan patung gWK akan dilakukan dari awal, yakni peletakan fondasi atau pedestal serta tu-buh patung. Lokasi pembangunan gWK yang baru terletak 300 meter di selatan lokasi patung gWK terdahulu.

“Jadi, kita harapkan dalam tiga tahun nanti pembangunan gWK akan selesai. Untuk itu, nantinya akan ada dua patung, yakni patung Wisnu setengah jadi, dan gWK yang berdiri secara utuh sesuai dengan cita-cita kita semula,” tutur Nyo-man Nuarta.

Patung gWK yang baru akan memiliki tinggi 75 meter dengan rentang sayap garuda sepanjang 64 meter, sedangkan tinggi pedestal 60 meter. oleh karena itu, tinggi patung dan pedestal secara kes-eluruhan akan menjulang setinggi 126 meter.

Ketinggian patung ini akan melebihi patung Liberty di New york, Amerika Ser-ikat, yang memiliki ketinggian 93 meter. Patung akan dibuat dari bahan tembaga dan kuningan yang akan memiliki berat 3.000 ton. Sementara itu, struktur patung

dibangun dari stainless steel sehingga patung ini akan memiliki daya tahan terh-adap kekuatan gempa 7,5 SR.

Secara keseluruhan, jika dihitung ter-masuk ketinggian lokasi patung di Bukit Balangan, Jimbaran, Kabupaten Ba-dung, kira-kira sepuluh kilometer di se-latan Bandara Ngurah Rai, patung gWK akan menjulang setinggi 276 m di atas permukaan laut. Ketinggian ini, menurut Nyoman Nuarta, telah memenuhi keten-tuan ketinggian bangunan yang berada di dekat bandara internasional.

Pembuatan patung gWK sepenuhnya dilakukan di NuArt Studio di kawasan Se-tra Duta, Sarijadi, Bandung, Jawa Barat. Di studio tersebut Nuarta mempekerja-kan sekitar 200 pekerja untuk melaku-kan konstruksi patung yang dibuat dalam irisan-irisan melintang. “Nanti, begitu bagian-bagian selesai, kami akan lang-sung kirim ke Bali, untuk kemudian dirakit menjadi patung gWK,” kata Nuarta.

Saat ini para pekerja sedang sibuk mengerjakan bagian demi bagian patung agar tiga tahun lagi seluruh konstruksi patung dari pedestal dan tubuh patung selesai dibangun. Di dalam tubuh patung gWK sampai setinggi dada, para pen-gunjung bisa naik dengan menggunakan tangga berjalan. Dari ketinggian di dalam rongga gWK para wisatawan bisa me-nikmati keindahan Pulau Dewata. Dari ketinggian itu juga bisa disaksikan keelo-kan gunung Agung di kejauhan timur laut. (*/ant)

Gandeng Investor, Pembangunan GWK Dilanjutkan

Bandara Komodo di Labuan Bajo, Manggarai Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) bakal didarati pesawat

Boeing kelas 737, pada September 2013. Kini, pengerjaan perpanjangan landasan pacu dan pemotongan dua bukit dipangkal di dekat bandara tengah dikerjakan.

“Bandara Komodo saat ini sepanjang 1.850 meter, nanti menjadi 2.150 meter. Sekarang sepanjang 300 meter sedang dikerjakan,” ungkap Kepala Bandara Ko-modo Labuan Bajo, Fuadani di Labuan Bajo.

Selain mengerjakan landasan, juga mengusur dua bukit dekat pantai yang tak jauh dari pangkalan bandara yakni bukit Kelumpang dan Bukit Cinta. “Kita sedang meratakan Bukit Kelumpang, tak lama lagi selesai dan akan langsung menger-jakan Bukit Cinta,” kata dia.

Targetnya Bandara Komodo bisa di-darati pesawat Boeing 737. “Itu berarti pas Sail Komodo Bandara Komodo bisa didarati pesawat garuda Boeing 737 yang ditumpangi Pak Presiden RI,” jelasnya.

Selain itu, pembenahan terminal Ban-dara Komodo juga tengah dilakukan,

dengan membangun terminal Bandara Komodo seluas bangunan 3.300 meter persegi.

Terminal bandara tiga lantai itu sudah selesai sekitar 50 persen yakni konstruksi dan atap, namun tak terlihat satu orang pun tukang yang sedang bekerja. “Me-mang pembangunan terminal bandara sempat berhenti sejak sekitar satu bulan lalu, dan sekitar beberapa minggu ke de-pan akan dilanjutkan pembangunannya,” tambahnya.

Pembangunan ber-henti karena dana tahap pertama untuk konstruksi dan atap sebanyak Rp 46 miliar sudah habis. Tahap selanjutnya dilakukan pelelangan lagi yang ang-garannya sebanyak Rp 93 miliar. “Dana sebanyak itu termasuk untuk kursi, lemari, ac termasuk tana-man,” jelasnya secara rinci.

Terminal bandara yang sedang dibangun akan

menampung 600-700 orang penumpang. Saat ini, penumpang bandara Komodo sekitar 400 orang per hari yang dilayani empat armada pesawat jenis Foker.

Fuadani memastikan, kalau Bandara Komodo sudah bisa didarati pesawat Boeing 737, maka harga tiket Labuan Bajo - Denpasar Bali dan sebaliknya yang saat ini sampai Rp 1.400.000 per orang akan turun menjadi Rp 400.000 - 500.000 saja. (*)

September 2013, Bandara Komodo Didarati Boeing

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photo by spc

Investasi di sektor pariwisata terus ber-tambah di tanah air. Namun, tenaga kerja profesional di sektor pariwisata

masih minim. “Tenaga berkualitas masih sedikit. Makanya banyak tenaga-tenaga asing yang akhirnya dibayar tinggi. Sin-gapura juga sama,” kata Director of Inter-national Admissions East Asia Institute of management (EASB) Singapura Ivy Ang di Jakarta belum lama ini.

Dijelaskan, ada 6 perusahaan perhote-

lan telah menyatakan komitmennya untuk berinvestasi di dalam negeri. Sebut saja Accor group yang akan membuka 190 hotel hingga 2015 dan Tauzia group. “Itu baru bisnis hotel, belum lagi unit usaha lainnya seperti restoran, penerbangan, transportasi, dan lainnya,” tegasnya.

Para investor berinvestasi karena me-lihat objek wisata alam yang indah dan unik. Sebagai contoh, objek wisata di yo-gyakarta dikenal dengan budaya etnisnya,

lalu Bali dengan romantisme pantai.Di samping itu, Indonesia memiliki ke-

unggulan demografi. Masyarakat kelas menengah terus bertambah jumlahnya. “Bisnis hotel terus berkembang. Kalau suatu perusahaan perhotelan mau masuk ke suatu negara, pasti mereka survei dulu, mana mungkin mereka buka bisnis kalau tidak ada pangsa pasar,” jelas Ivy.

Untuk memenuhi kebutuhan industri tersebut, perlu dorongan sumber daya manusia (SDM). Ivy juga melihat sekolah-sekolah yang menyediakan SDM di sektor pariwisata selain semakin banyak, pemi-natnya juga tidak pernah menurun. “EASB sendiri dulu kita mulai masih sedikit 50 orang siswa tahun 2001, sekarang kita su-dah 4.000 dan terkoneksi dengan sekolah-sekolah pariwisata lain,” tutur Ivy.

Menurut Ivy, kondisi perekonomian glob-al yang masih belum beranjak dari keter-purukan dinilai tidak berpengaruh terh-adap industri pariwisata, baik di Singapura maupun di Indonesia. “Ketika masyarakat mengalami stres akibat kekurangan uang, mereka cenderung traveling untuk mengu-rangi stres,” jelasnya.

Namun, sambung dia, saat bisnis se-dang tidak bagus, biasanya para pengu-saha cenderung lebih banyak melakukan upaya-upaya untuk memajukan bisnisnya, eksplorasi tempat-tempat lain untuk bisa buka bisnis baru. “Saya tidak melihat sek-tor tourism terancam dengan kondisi global yang saat ini belum membaik. Sektor keuan-gan mungkin mundur tapi sektor pariwisata masih terus bertumbuh,” tutur Ivy. (*)

171817Vol. I No.1/9 2013 Nusantara

Sanitasi yang bersih dan sehat merupakan investasi yang penting bagi industri pariwisata Indonesia. Menurut Direktur Pemberdayaan

Masyarakat, Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif (Kemenparekraf), Bakri menyatakan toilet yang bersih, salah satu investasi yang penting bagi pariwisata untuk melayani wisatawan dengan lebih baik.

“Kebersihan toilet dan sanitasi yang memadai lalu di-masukkan ke dalam Sadar Wisata karena dianggap men-jadi hal yang sangat penting dalam pembangunan des-tinasi wisata di Indonesia. Tempat wisata atau restoran dengan sanitasi yang baik tentu akan ramai dikunjungi karena memberikan nilai tambah dalam bentuk kenya-manan dalam hal sanitasi,” ujarnya.

Dikatakan dengan semakin banyak wisatawan yang berkunjung, maka diharapkan sanitasi yang baik juga memberikan dampak positif terhadap nilai ekonomi. Maka kami memberikan penghargaan pada lokasi publik atau tempat rekreasi yang punya toilet bersih seperti bandara internasional, kebun binatang, taman rekreasi, dan home-stay rumah penduduk.

“Pada 27 September 2013 Kemenparekraf berencana untuk menggelar Penghargaan Sapta Pesona Toilet Umum Terbersih Bandar Udara (Bandara) di Indonesia 2013. Saat ini sedang dalam proses seleksi. Toilet umum bandara yang akan diseleksi itu tersebar di bandara-bandara internasional maupun nasional di 19 provinsi di Indonesia,” katanya.

Ditambahkannya, sebelum penganugerahan toilet umum bersih di bandar udara, Kemenparekraf telah melaksanakan penganugerahan Penghargaan Sapta Pesona Toilet Umum Bersih di Museum Tahun 2010, Ke-bun Binatang Tahun 2011, dan Taman Rekreasi Buatan Tahun 2012. (*)

Toilet Bersih Juga Menjadi Investasi Pariwisata

SDM Profesional Pariwisata Sangat Minim

Ketika Musik Bambu Berpadu Musik Modern

Sate kuliner khas Indonesia yang dikenal dengan daging ditusuk dan dibakarnya, masuk dalam daftar sepuluh makanan terlezat di dunia yang kid-friendly

versi Lonely Planet. Berdasarkan pantauan website resmi Lonely Planet, lonelyplanet.com , tidak ada peringkat dalam daftar makanan yang dinilai selain memiliki cita rasa yang lezat juga aman dikonsumsi untuk anak-anak ini.

Situs yang berasal dari negara Meksiko ini menjelaskan pada awal tulisan para orangtua berharap kepada pengelola situs untuk memperkenalkan makanan yang berbeda dan tetap sehat untuk anak-anak mereka.

Mara Vorhees sebagai penulis artikel Lonely Planet men-gatakan apakah keluarga Anda berkeliling dunia, atau hanya mencari sedikit variasi di dapur rumah Anda, masakan inter-nasional dapat menjadi sumber inspirasi dan gizi tersebut. Dipaparkan 10 makanan terlezat tersebut menyebut sate (satay) adalah makanan pada tongkat atau stik yang menun-jukkan daya tarik yang sama seperti es loli dan corn dogs.

“Tidak hanya itu, tetapi daging potongan-potongan kecil ini dimasak di atas api dan disajikan dengan saus kacang. Rasanya familiar dan itu menyenangkan untuk anak sebagai makan favorit. Soal identitas atau asal masakan ini, website ini tidak salah menyebut kuliner ini sebagai makanan khas negeri jiran, tetapi dengan jelas dituliskan sate merupakan hidangan nasional Indonesia yang ditemukan di Jawa dan populer di seluruh Asia Tenggara,” ujarnya.

Dikatakan, suatu hal yang membanggakan mengingat sate sebagai sepuluh makanan terlezat bagi anak-anak ber-sanding dengan makanan khas lainnya dari seluruh dunia. Menjadi bukti kuliner Indonesia diakui dunia.

Selain sate, makanan yang masuk dalam daftar, yaitu An-tojitos dari Mexico, Rice and beans dari Karibian, Crêpes dari Perancis, Cacio e pepe dari Italia, Meze dari Turki, Couscous dari Afrika Utara, Biryani dari India, Xiaolongbao dari China, dan Pho dari Vietnam. (*)

Sate Masuk Daftar 10 Makanan Terlezat di Dunia

Festival Musik Bambu Nusantara VII (FMBN) digelar dua hari di Assembly Hall Jakarta Convention Center (JCC)

pada 27-28 Agustus 2013, diharapkan akan meraih 10 ribu pengunjung. “Kami menargetkan event ini mampu menjaring pengunjung 10.000 orang selama dua hari acara berlangsung,” kata Dirjen Pemasaran Pariwisata, Kemenparekraf Esthy Reko Astuty saat membuka FMBN 2013.

Event FMBN tahun ini merupakan kali ketujuh, menjadi sebuah pesta musik ko-laborasi antara musik kontemporer sep-erti jazz, rap, rock, maupun disc jokey dengan musik etnis bambu yang memiliki suara eksotis seperti angklung, karinding, celempung, lodong, calung, seruling, dan berbagai instrumen musik bambu lainnya.

Event ini selain menampilkan seni musik bambu juga menyajikan aneka kerajinan bamboo, kuliner berbahan bambu, serta fashion yang dipadukan dengan karya berbahan bambu.

Kesempatan sama, Dadang Johari ket-ua penyelenggara Festival Musik Bambu Nusantara 2013, ajang ini upaya menge-nalkan genre musik bambu baru. “Banyak musik bambu di Indonesia, tapi masyarakat hanya kenal angklung,” kata Dadang.

Diharapkan festival ini memunculkan

minat pengunjung yang kebanyakan anak sekolah untuk mencintai alat musik dari bambu lainnya. Nantinya di festival ini diperkenalkan genre musik bambu den-gan sentuhan musik kontemporer seperti, bamboo jazz, bamboo rock, bamboo pop, samba hingga hiphop.

Acara festival juga dirangkai dengan pa-meran, seminar, serta aneka ragam mer-chandise dari bambu. FMBN 2013 meli-batkan para musisi ternama seperti Maudi Ayunda, Dwiki Dharmawan, Andien, Bala-wan, Samba Sunda, group Arumba dari Jepang, dan para siswa dari sejumlah sekolah di Jakarta.

Esthy Reko Astuty berpendapat event ini tidak hanya memiliki pengaruh terh-adap promosi potensi bambu di Indonesia namun juga terhadap pariwisata di Indo-nesia. “Di samping untuk mengedukasi anak-anak agar mengenal warisan bu-daya, event ini juga untuk memobilisasi wisatawan nusantara,” katanya.

Menurut dia, selain untuk tujuan promo-si ekonomi kreatif, event ini juga sekaligus bisa untuk mempromosikan pariwisata dengan menggunakan media festival musik bambu. “Salah satu upaya men-datangkan wisatawan baik mancanegara maupun domestik bisa melalui pertunjukan musik dan juga olahraga,” tutur Esthy.

Esthy pun melanjutkan, sebagai con-toh, salah satunya adalah Jakarta. Se-lama ini Jakarta dikenal sebagi destinasi MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention dan Exhibition). Padahal, Jakarta berpo-tensi menjadi destinasi wisata lain seperti kuliner dan belanja. “Jakarta cukup luas tak hanya pusat kotanya saja tapi juga wilayah di sekitarnya. Dengan cara seperti ini (festival musik) bisa memperkenalkan Jakarta sebagai destinasi tujuan wisata,” ujar Esthy.

FMBN 2013 bisa menjadi suatu bentuk promosi wisata. Pihaknya juga bekerja sama dengan pihak agen perjalanan wisa-ta dengan membuat paket wisata. “Musik ini menghasilkan karya-karya. Ini yang in-gin kita tawarkan,” ungkap Esthy. (bowo)

Esthy Reko Astuty (tengah) didampingi Nia Niscaya, Direktur Promosi Prawisata Luar Negeri, Dadang Johari, Dwiki Dharmawan dan Balawan.

Penampilan Balawan dan Dwiki Darmawan mengawali perhelatan Festival Musik Bambu Nusantara 2013.

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1818 NusantaraPariwisata Perlu Media Online untuk Promosi

Ternyata daya tarik pariwisata di Indonesia menurut penilaian dari United Nation World Tourism organization (UNWTo) masih

dibawah Singapura dan Malaysia. Ini menjadi pertanyaan besar? mengingat Indonesia lebih luas dan mempunyai daya tarik yang lebih banyak. Setelah dilihat, ternyata salah satu penilaian UNWTo berdasarkan kegiatan festival/even di negara tersebut.

“Festival atau even juga merupakan daya tarik, ternyata itu menjadi penilaian juga. Bagaimana mengemas suatu festival dan mempromosikan dengan baik agar mendunia,” ujar Ratna Suranti, Direktur Pencitraan Indonesia, Kementerian Pari-wisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif di Jakarta.

Saat ini, Indonesia telah memiliki even berkelas dunia, seperti Tour de Singkarak, Java Jazz mau-pun Jakarta Fashion Week. Diharapkan festival-festival budaya di daerah mesti bisa mengikuti cara mengemas dan mempromosikannya.

Ratna menyadari era digital saat ini, internet menjadi salah satu media yang tepat untuk mem-promosikan suatu festival atau even agar bisa menjangkau dunia. “Dunia pariwisata sangat membutuhkan internet sebagai ajang berpromosi, karena ini adalah jendela dunia,” ujar pejabat yang gemar olahraga diving ini.

Terkait hal itu, pihaknya kini sedang beker-jasama dengan media-media online maupun para blogger untuk mempromosikan kegiatan festival di Indonesia. “Kami berupaya menggandeng media online maupun para blogger agar turut aktif mem-promosikan, mereka merupakan pintu gerbang menembus dunia Internasional,” paparnya.

Selain itu, lanjut Ratna peran media sosial tidak kalah pentingnya. “media sosial seperti facebook maupun twiiter mempunyai pengaruh yang cu-kup besar dalam mempromosikan pariwisata di Indonesia,”jelasnya.

Ratna mencontohkan twitter, dimana di Jakarta mempunyai pengguna jutaan orang bahkan pal-ing besar di dunia. “Twitter sangat besar usernya (pengguna) di Indonesia, khususnya Jakarta. Bah-kan terbesar di dunia, sebab itu Jakarta dijuluki ‘City of Twitter’. Bayangkan jika sebagian besar user tersebut tiap hari men’tweet’ salah satu festi-val atau even di Indonesia, pastinya seluruh dunia akan menengok ke Indonesia,” ungkap Ratna.

Namun, jelas Ratna, sebagian besar pengguna twitter di Jakarta masih berkutat dengan hal-hal

yang bersifat pribadi. “Kebanyakan men-tweet kegiatan pribadi seperti ‘mau mandi, pergi seko-lah, putus cinta…dan sebagainya’ yang tentunya kurang berefek dalam promosi pariwisata,” jelas Ratna.

Peran media online dan blogger diharapkan bisa menjadi garda depan dalam memberi eduka-si kepada masyarakat, bahwa mereka (para user media sosial) juga bisa turut aktif dalam mempro-mosikan pariwisata Indonesia.

Ratna menjelaskan, saat ini pihaknya telah memiliki portal promosi pariwisata yang sudah mendapat kurang lebih 5000 pengunjung setiap harinya, yaitu www.indonesia.travel. “Portal ini se-bagai etalase (toko) untuk mempromosikan daya tarik pariwisata Indonesia, selain itu kami juga menggandeng portal wisata lainnya serta merang-kul para blogger,”pungkas Ratna. (bowo)

Ratna Suranti