Komodo National Park drops to 26th place in global poll

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 01/23/2011

Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, home to the rare Komodo dragon, has seen its recent rank in the New Seven Wonders of Nature list drop drastically from sixth to 26th out of 28 finalists.

The list is an ongoing global poll to determine the new seven natural wonders of the world.

“For the past four weeks, only 60.62 percent of international voters have voted for Komodo, placing it at the 26th rank out of 28 finalists,” East Nusa Tenggara Tourism, Arts and Culture Agency promotion division head Ubaldus Gogi said in Kupang on Sunday.

Ubaldus, as quoted by Antara, said he hoped Indonesians would help promote Komodo dragons before the international community to boost the national park’s popularity.

As of noon on Sunday, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania topped the New Seven Wonders list with 99.98 percent of international voters having voted in support, followed closely by the Mud Volcanoes in Azerbaijan (99.81 percent of votes), the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador (99.76 percent), Cliffs of Mother in Ireland (99.64 percent), and Milford Sound in New Zealand (99.61 percent).

Germany’s Black Forest presently stands at 6th place with 99.58 percent voter support, followed by Italy’s Mount Vesuvius at 7th place with 99.49 percent.

The rest of the list can be seen at www.new7wonders.com.

A New Slogan to Lure Tourists to Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Tasa Nugraza Barley | January 09, 2011          

With more than 17,000 islands and some of the richest biodiversity on earth, Indonesia is a natural paradise. To go along with its breathtaking natural scenery, the archipelago also boasts a hugely diverse range of cultures and religions.

The komodo dragon is one of Indonesia's biggest tourist draws.
 Most travelers and tourism industry insiders agree that,
 along with the new, flashy slogan, Indonesia needs a better
 approach to managing a national tourism industry that
 continues to struggle. (AFP Photo/ Bay Ismoyo).  

Whether you want to take in the world’s highest diversity of coral species while diving the reefs of Raja Ampat in West Papua, stroll ancient temple compounds in Central Java or walk among real-life prehistoric dragons on Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia has something for travelers of all stripes.

How then, can you sum up this myriad of tourism riches in a single slogan.

This was the challenge facing members of Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry running up to the unveiling last week of the country’s new official tourism slogan for 2011, “Wonderful Indonesia.”

Reaction to the new slogan has been mixed, with some expressing remorse that the older, more direct slogan, “Visit Indonesia,” had been dropped.

Like it or hate it, most travelers and tourism industry insiders agree that, along with the new, flashy slogan, Indonesia needs a new and better approach to managing a national tourism industry that continues to struggle despite being blessed with almost limitless potential.

According to the official Web site of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, Indonesia ranks No. 4 in tourist arrivals on a list of all Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia, at No. 1, hosted more than 23 millions international tourists in 2009, followed by Thailand and Singapore, respectively.

Despite what on paper appears to be a chronic underperformance, there is reason to believe that Indonesian tourism is on the brink of a new golden era — if it can capitalize on some recent trends.

The Tourism Ministry has released new data for 2010 showing that it was a record year for international arrivals, with seven million foreign tourists visiting Indonesia. The ministry said that these tourists pumped around $7.6 billion into the economy.

In addition, the ministry also reported that Indonesians themselves are getting out to explore the wonders of their own country in greater numbers than ever before.

Last year some 234 million Indonesians fanned out to beaches, hiking trails and resorts all across the archipelago in search of fun and adventure, adding Rp 138 trillion ($15.5 billion) to the economy in the process — a 3.05 percent increase from the 229 million local travelers reported in 2009.

The ministry has set a goal for 7.7 million international tourist arrivals in 2011, a 10 percent increase from 2010.

It is in support of this target that the Tourism Ministry has introduced its new slogan.

The new slogan is accompanied by a logo depicting the country’s national Garuda symbol drawn in five different colors.

“The aura around 2011 is very positive,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik wrote recently on the ministry’s Web site.

Despite Jero’s enthusiasm, most industry insiders think that it will take more than a positive aura to meet the new goal.

Tara Seprita, a strategic planner at the Grey Jakarta advertising agency, said slogans, logos and taglines were an important part of this type of large-scale campaign, but she added that there must also be something behind the slogan that backed up the brand’s vision and mission.

Tara said that, by its nature, the global tourism industry is cluttered with many countries vying for their share of the tourist dollar.

Usually, one country’s campaign is no better or more distinctive than other countries’ campaigns.

It’s very difficult to stand out in this type of an environment. Doing so takes much more than just a catchy slogan, she said.

Dewi Wilaisono, a housewife, avid traveler, photographer and scuba diver, said she supported the slogan change.

“There’s no other word that can represent Indonesia besides ‘wonderful,’ ” said Dewi, who has traveled to almost every province in Indonesia.

Tara, however, believes that there is room for improvement. “Wonderful Indonesia” is not very focused, she said, adding that there are too many messages that the ministry is trying to get across in one line.

She thinks that the previous slogan, “Visit Indonesia,” was more to the point.

It’s not easy to determine which one is better, she said.

“In the end, a slogan doesn’t really matter that much — the most important thing is how well the overall strategy is implemented.”

Celebrated traveler Trinity, known to her readers as The Naked Traveler, agrees.

She said that a catchy new slogan is useless unless it is part of an larger integrated campaign.

Trinity, whose two books, “The Naked Traveler” and “The Naked Traveler 2,” have become national best sellers, complained that finding information about Indonesian tourism was still difficult.

“Try to search ‘Indonesia’ and ‘tourism’ on Google, the chances are you’ll have a hard time finding Indonesia’s official tourism Web site,” she said.

Trinity pointed out that finding reliable, up-to-date travel information on the Internet remained one of the most problematic issues for foreign tourists.

And until this problem is fixed, all the new slogans in the world won’t help to increase Indonesia’s tourism, she added.

She blamed the Tourism Ministry for not appealing to the public to get more involved in support of the tourism industry.

She pointed out how other countries like Malaysia, with its “Truly Asia” campaign, had managed to communicate their strategies not only to the world, but to their own residents as well.

“The people there are proud of helping and supporting the tourism industry,” she said, adding that the opposite is often the reality in Indonesia.

When the new slogan was launched, Trinity said most of the residents she spoke with didn’t even know about it and those who did didn’t really know what it meant.

“I myself don’t really know what the new slogan really means,” Trinity admitted.

“If people don’t know what the government is doing in the tourism sector, they can’t be expected to know how to help and participate,” she said.

“It seems to me that the government wants to go forward by themselves. This isn’t right.”

Tara pointed out how the slogans of neighboring countries such as “Amazing Thailand” or “Infinitely Yours Seoul” were actually nothing special.

But the difference is that these slogans are a part of large, sustained and creative campaigns to lure tourists.

Tara said that Indonesia’s tourism officials needed to stop focusing only on traditional communication strategies and start thinking more creatively while focusing on Web-based digital implementation and access.

But despite the criticism, Jero remains optimistic that his office is on the right course and can boost the number of tourists coming to Indonesia.

“Culture is our strength and treasure that we can use to build our tourism industry,” he said.

Although she personally likes the new slogan, Dewi agreed that there was plenty more that needed to be done in order to improve tourism in Indonesia.

“We don’t promote hard enough to potential tourists abroad,” she said, adding that even domestic promotion is very limited. “Access to many tourism destinations is still bad.”

Trinity, who’s been to every province in Indonesia except Papua, said that infrastructure remained a great obstacle to boosting tourism.

She said that East Indonesia, which has huge potential to attract international tourists, still has very poor infrastructure, making traveling there difficult and costly.

But despite the problems, Indonesia still has the major advantage of being, well, Indonesia. There’s nowhere else like it on earth.

For this reason, people like Trinity are certain of Indonesia’s potential. “I don’t know one foreign traveler who doesn’t like Indonesia,” she said.

“The challenge is how to start getting people to come here first.”

Darwin mayor wants yacht race to Ambon maintained

Antara News, Monday, August 2, 2010 17:42 WIB

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - The annual Darwin-Ambon Yacht Race will be maintained as it is having a major impact on the continuity of the sister-city cooperation between Darwin and Ambon, the Australian city`s mayor said.

Darwin Mayor Graeme Sawyer said here on Monday the race was of great importance to the strengthening of the Darwin-Ambon sister city cooperative ties.

Sawyer admitted the prestigious international yacht race was also important to strengthen the relations between the peoples of Darwin and Ambon.

"The people of Darwin have a very friendly relationship with their friends in Ambon, and thus they make use of the yacht race every year to visit Maluku provincial capital," Sawyer said.

He expressed optimism that in the years to come the participant of the Darwin-Ambon Yacht Race would continue to increase following conducive situation in Ambon after almost three-year sectarian violence from 1999-2002.

The Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race was initially organized by the Cruising Yacht Association of the Northern Territory Incorporated (CYANT).

That Association ran the event from 1976 until 1998 when it was suspended for safety and security reasons.

The 600 mile downwind race attracted six yachts in its inaugural year.

For months afterwards, conversation amongst returning yachties was dominated by stories of "champagne sailing", overwhelming hospitality, lovely friendly people, the scenic beauty, the cultural diversity, the food, and an annual event not to be missed.

Entries steadily increased over the years as the event?s reputation spread and its tradition grew.

International skippers began to use Ambon as a starting point to visit some of the 13,000 islands of the Indonesian Archipelago. Some sailed north to Manado and onto the Raja Muda Selangor Regatta in Malaysia.

Others headed southwest to the amazing Buton Passage and then on to visit the famous Komodo Dragons en route to Makassar or Bali and beyond.

A big factor in the growing popularity of the race was related to the excellent facilities Darwin offered for yachts and their crews. For many, Darwin would be the last access to western comforts and familiar language for many months.

Komodo, Indonesia: Into the dragons' den

Sailing on a schooner around eastern Indonesia, Natalie Paris mixes sunbathing on deck with a spot of island exploration - and a meeting with the carnivorous lizards of Komodo.

Telegraph.co.uk, By Natalie Paris, 11:09AM BST 10 May 2010

While not exactly fire-breathing, these large monitor lizards have an acute sense of smell, large claws and a toxic bite

Indonesia's vast archipelago has always lured adventurers, with tales of stormy straits, desert islands and man-eating dragons. European trading ships sailed here in the 16th century in search of treasures. These days the Spice Islands, now known as Maluku, have fallen off the charts of the average seafarer, but farther south, legends of dragons live on. Here lie remote islands perfect for modern voyages of discovery.

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Dirk Bergsma, a latter-day explorer, got his first taste of the country in the Seventies when he caught a lift on a wooden schooner locals used to transport cargo. The journey inspired him to found a tour company, Sea Trek, that organises intrepid but relaxed cruises along the old spice routes. "You can sail to places so incredible you can't believe they still exist," he says.

Nearly two decades after Dirk bought his first schooner, I joined 14 other passengers boarding another on an adventure of our own. We might have had gin-and-tonics, sun loungers and a wonderful crew who rinsed our walking boots for us, but we still felt like adventurers.

Each day would start with some sailing, typically past pods of dolphins and lackadaisical turtles

The double-masted Katharina sails all over the eastern archipelago, including to Maluku, but our voyage was the most accessible that she offers – a 10-day trip east from Bali to the island of Flores and back. This popular itinerary allowed us to make various stops within the Komodo National Park, a diver's haven with sharks and manta rays below the surface, and above it, the island homes of one of the world's most impressive creatures – the Komodo dragon.

While not exactly fire-breathing, these large monitor lizards have an acute sense of smell, large claws and a toxic bite. Although they eat mainly carrion, they prey on deer and water buffalo, and have killed a human as recently as 2009. From Ari, our companionable guide on board the Katharina, I learnt that the dragons eat their dead and are cannibals, forcing their young to live in trees for up to five years to avoid being attacked. Suddenly our planned two-hour hike to spot them seemed less appealing, knowing that they could be anywhere around us – on land, in branches above us, in the sea. That's right. They swim, too.

An encounter with the lizards is certainly the most obvious reason to explore this scattering of volcanic islands, but there are plenty of others. In the couple of days before we went in search of dragons, the boat stopped at Flores ("Flowers"), an island named by the Portuguese that has smoking cones, fertile flanks and forested ridges studded with the tin roofs of villages glinting in the sun.

The winding island road, forever either climbing or falling, is lined with Catholic churches, neat wooden houses and tethered goats, pigs and tawny cows. As our driver negotiated the many switchbacks through the lush interior, old women squatting next to fires of coconut husks smiled up at us through lips stained red by betel-nut juice, and schoolchildren yelled "Hello, mister" at every bend.

We had come inland to see the dramatic crater lakes at the top of Mount Kelimutu, which change colour depending on mineral levels and have, in the past, been a rainbow palate of brown, cream, red, blue and emerald green. Kelimutu's three lakes have a spiritual meaning for locals and represent the afterlife.

The dramatic crater lakes at the top of Mount Kelimutu have, in the past, been a rainbow palate of brown, cream, red, blue and emerald green

At sunrise, two lakes that were brilliant turquoise during my visit were the first to be bathed in light. These are the two that welcome the spirits of the good and the young, and the sun gave them a pinky halo. Yet a chill remained at the third, on the other face of the mountain, supposedly the resting place of evil spirits. This lake was as black as an inkwell and, while it was shrouded in shadows, an air of foreboding was almost tangible.

That feeling returned a few days later on the boat, as we checked our zoom lenses and prepared to set foot on Rinca island, dragon territory. Rinca and neighbouring Komodo, where the dragons also live, have a more arid landscape than Flores. Shoes or flip-flops, I wondered? Apparently the dragons can launch themselves into a sprint as quickly as a small dog. Shoes it was, then. I had just started to weigh up whether it would be safer to stride out with the ranger or stay close to the group when our first group of dragons appeared right in front of us.

Six or seven lay under a ranger's hut, the occasional yellow forked tongue sliding from square jaws. They were just as big as I had imagined. Shutters whirred and we edged nearer. "Careful," one of the rangers said. "Not too close."

For a minute the dragons seemed docile. But then something disturbed the group. In a flash they rose up on haunches encased in folds of scales and darted forward at speed, their thick bodies switching from side to side in a manner that was alarming in something 10 feet long. Deep inside, some innate urge screamed "Run".

I flinched and the ranger laughed. "Don't worry," he said, waving a stick as if idly flapping at a mosquito. "Their noses are really sensitive; they will run away." We had no choice but to believe him and follow him into the woods.

These stocky predators are the largest lizards on earth and are a protected species. There are only about 4,000 of them living in the wild, all found on this cluster of islands. We spotted one with its head close to the ground, camouflaged by the trees. "He is waiting for a monkey," the ranger said. Sure enough, 15 yards along the track we saw a young family of long-tailed macaques skipping along the forest floor.

On the crest of a hill another dragon sat on its hind legs, leaning against a rock and staring down at the bay where the Katharina was docked. Fearing an ambush of the kind recently filmed by the BBC's Life crew – in which dragons had sat mercilessly waiting for a wounded buffalo to die, tongues flicking in anticipation – our group filed back down to the jetty with new purpose.

It was a pleasure to return to the blissfully relaxing routine of the Katharina. Soon I was sitting with my legs over her bow, sea salt in my hair and the waves slapping at my bare soles, watching another uninhabited island slip out of view.

On board were seven air-conditioned, amply appointed cabins, shared by passengers from all over Europe. We ate communal dinners with wine at a large, deck-top dining table and there were sun loungers for optional massages against the backdrop of sublime sunsets. The small lounge and bar downstairs was the perfect nook for nightcaps, and the crew raised handsome maroon sails whenever there was a brisk wind.

Each day would start with some sailing, typically past pods of dolphins and lackadaisical turtles, sheets of ferocious currents and whirlpools. Then, as we travelled slowly back to Bali, we would drop anchor in order to visit island communities on Flores, Sumbawa and Lombok. Some demonstrated how to weave ikat cloth, others how to master the steps of traditional dances.

In Sumbawa we disembarked onto a beach at Wera, where village children ran out to greet us and show us half-built wooden ships positioned like breakers along the black sand. Skilfully made but incomplete, they resembled skeletal Mary Celestes that required years of crafting before they could be blessed and put out to sea.

Sumptuous lunches would be dished up on board before afternoons spent snorkelling or exploring pristine beaches, such as the smudged pink sand at Gili Banta, turquoise bays around Riung and the corals at Gili Lawa.

Afternoons would be spent snorkelling or exploring pristine beaches, such as the turquoise bays around Riung

We came to learn that other passengers had enjoyed previous voyages on the Katharina. At night they swapped stories under the stars of journeys further east, of meeting warrior tribes and sailing through the Alor strait, where "there was nothing but swirling seas". A retired Dutchman told me on our final night: "You should come when we sail to Papua. Now that is truly magnificent."

As we approached the glittering lights of Bali's coastline, I felt every bit the returning explorer, with a successful voyage and encounter with fearsome reptiles under my belt. Even in this day and age, new adventures are always possible at sea.

Explore

(0844 499 0901; www.explore.co.uk) offers 16-night "East Indies Seatrek" tours including a 10-day Bali-Flores-Bali voyage on the Katharina between May and October. The trip includes four nights in a hotel in Bali on a b & b basis and nine nights' full board in ensuite cabins on the schooner: prices from £2,370 with international flights; £1,621 without. Between July and August, places are available for children at £2,478, with adult places costing £2,601, both with flights.

Sea Trek

(0062 361 283358; www.anasia-cruise.com) offers a range of voyages on the Katharina to Indonesian destinations farther afield.