Balancing conservation and tourism in world heritage sites requires the commitment of all parties. This is important to ensure the sustainability of the world heritage.
By
Kompas Team
·4 minutes read
RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO
Panorama of the Borobudur Temple from the Punthuk Setumbu area, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Thursday (11/12/2020). The Punthuk Setumbu area is an area that is growing in the area around the Borobudur Temple.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The preservation of world heritage sites requires the participation of visitors to take care of them properly. Therefore, quality tourism, which prioritizes visitor education, should take precedence over mass tourism. In addition, conservation costs that lead to tariff increases should not be entirely borne by tourists.
Evi Novianti, head of the sustainable-tourism master-study program at Padjadjaran University, said that the number of visitors needed to be controlled in order to protect world heritage sites, such as the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara. The site is home to the Komodo dragons, a rare species that requires special care in order that its living space can be sustained.
"Now the priority is quality tourism, with tourists who truly understand conservation. Not mass or massive visits – but implement restrictions," Evi said on Tuesday (5/7/2022).
Quality tourism requires educating travelers, the task of which according to her can be done by the accompanying tour guides. "The priority is to sustain Komodo dragons, not go after abundant visits," she said.
Regarding the government’s plan to increase the Komodo National Park’s entrance tariffs from Rp 200,000 ($13.31) per person per visit to Rp 3.75 million per person for the whole year visit, Evi warned that the public should not shoulder the brunt of the financial burden. She said a rate increase would be reasonable if it was offset with the available tourist facilities.
“Indeed, there is a budget for conservation costs. If it is not enough, it is necessary to cooperate with other parties. Consult with the KLHK [Environment and Forestry Ministry]," she said.
Silvester Wanggel, who represented the association of tour agencies in Labuan Bajo, said they feared the implementation of the entrance fee to the Komodo National Park would greatly disrupt the local tourism industry. “When tourism conditions are just about to improve after the Covid-19 pandemic, suddenly [the prospects] appear like this. It would be a big blow," he said.
The proposed entrance rate increase was reported to have prompted a turnaround in several prospective tourists’ plans to visit Labuan Bajo, citing the rate increase as excessive. “They prefer to go to other destinations that are much cheaper. This is what we are very worried about,” tour agent Doni Parera said.
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Panorama of Padar Island in West Manggarai Regency, NTT, on Friday (24/6/2022). This island and Komodo Island are usually a tour package offered to tourists who come to Labuan Bajo..
Rate increase on hold
The government has also announced a policy to increase ticket rates to the Borobudur Temple, a world cultural-heritage site located in Magelang, Central Java, in a bid to help control the number of visitors to the site compound. The ticket-rate increases proposed were from Rp 50,000 to Rp 750,000 for domestic visitors, and from US$20 to $100 for foreign visitors. Students are charged a fee of Rp 5,000. However, the plan has been suspended due to growing public objections.
Also as part of the visit-controlling measures, the Borobudur Conservation Center (BKB) has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) that visitors must follow when entering the Borobudur Temple compound. In the SOP, which will be in effect when the temple is reopened to the public, the number of visits will be limited to 1,259 people per day.
"Every visitor who goes up [the temple building] is also required to wear upanat sandals and be accompanied by a certified tour guide," BKB head Wiwit Kasiyati said. Upanat sandals are made from woven pandan leaves.
She disclosed the BKB’s plans to develop five alternative tourist sites besides Borobudur Temple. The five sites are the Samberan Temple site, the Plandi site, the Brongsongan site, the Dipan site and the Dutch cemetery site.
Meanhwile, Hilmar Farid, Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry’s director for culture said the concept of quality tourism would require the tourism-site authorities to make efforts to create new tourist attractions.
“In the Borobudur case, there are 39 sites in total in the Borobudur vicinity. We have to see Borobudur as a landscape, not just a temple building,” he said. (TAM/FRN/EGI/SKA)
