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West Nusa Tenggara has strong potential as a tourist destination. Gede Pitana makes some suggestions as to how this region might developed as such.

West Nusa Tenggara's tourism industry has great potential. As industry experts have concluded. not only is the province, just west of Bali, ripe for tourism development. But said development is also highly likely to stimulate the local economy and bring in much needed foreign exchange. 

In spite of the setbacks Lombok's tourism industry suffered last year when locals rioted in January, in West Nusa Tenggara, and particularly in Lombok as the provincial centre, it has a bright future. It's varied, unique and rich traditions, friendly local communities which are happy to receive visitors, and breathtaking landscapes put it on a par with Bali.

But in addition to all that, West Nusa Tenggara has a geographical advantage in its location in the middle of the archipelago's tourism triangle, which stretches from Bali, to Pulau Komodo in the east and Tana Torpid in the north. Its location to the east of the Wallace Line which, located between Bali and Lombok, separates west from eastern Indonesia and marks a sudden vast differentiation in flora, fauna and culture, is also a point in its favour. Naturally and culturally speaking, West Nusa Tenggara is markedly different from other more popular destinations to its west. Moreover its sand is still white, its cliff-hemmed seas are cobalt blue, where colourful fish are still abundant. Its interiors harbour waterfalls, forests and, of course, the Lake Segara Anak.

Human made attractions are equally prominent here, including local handicrafts, weaving, ancient ruins, palaces and such. Its people, which fall under the three broad ethnic groups of Lombok's Sasak and Sumbawa's Samawa and Mbojo people, live extremely varied cultures and intermingle Balinese, Javanese and Buginese migrants.

But to develop all this potential into a real and functioning tourism industry is no easy task. One of the challenges that lies ahead is debunking the myth to which many still hold, that tourism has a destructive influence for it tends to obliterate social, environmental, cultural, religious and even economic aspects of local communal life. These aspects, they ay, are extremely vulnerable to tourism development, even though this thesis is yet to be proven.  Tourism in this region is remains subjected to strict controls, especially in Lombok, which represents the 'gate' of West Nusa Tenggara's tourism industry. In this way, Lombok can said to represent a test case in the development of tourism in West Nusa Tenggara as a whole.

In the 1980s West Nusa Tenggara's nascent tourism industry began to develop and tourism was flagged as the industry to receive the second most developmental attention after agriculture. With the help of some promotion and initial infrastructural development, the number of tourists visiting the province began to grow from year to year

Between 134 and 1991, the number of foreign tourists visiting the area grew by over 50%. The number of domestic tourists the province received also grew, albeit by between 12 and 23%. This is, nevertheless, quite a drastic rate, for it outstripped both the UNDP/WTO's growth projection and that of the provincial government.

In spite of the fact that industry growth has been satisfactory, and is showing signs to continue to be so, several principle problems may be cause I for concern. While infrastructural development is proceeding, social and cultural factors need to be taken into account if we are to ensure that tourism is sustainable in West Nusa Tenggara. Namely, starting from now, the development process needs to be participatory and biological by involving local communities. Locals, that is, need to be brought into the decision making processes, especially considering that tourism depends on the continued salience of their cultures. Tourism development needs to be community driven, and not something that is completely foreign to locals.

One of the ways to prevent his happening is by not placing too much emphasis on the need o increase tourist numbers. Marketing West Nusa Tenggara Beds to follow a strategy that supports sustainable and quality  tourism, by targeting the 'quality tourist' market. Following the restrictions included in Bali's Comprehensive Development Plan, quality tourists may or by not be moneyed - what's important is their high level of appreciation for local cultures and the environment.

We also need to take into account West Nusa Tenggara's carrying capacity, given the state of its infrastructure, and the adaptability of local communities to communicating with tourists from foreign cultures. Tourism development should not entail the loss of local identity and integrity.

Detailed research still needs to be undertaken before the plan for developing sustainable tourism in the province can be complete. Some enquiry is warranted into the adaptation of traditional institutions to the development of tourism, the impact of tourism on traditional social structure, and local perceptions of tourism, to name a few.

Efforts also need to be made to strengthen and preserve local culture, and to protect local historical sites, as has been done in East Nusa Tenggara. There, the official development plan includes the preservation and protection of local cultures, and efforts to improve the quality of local art forms. Often what happens,  however, is that official planners lose out to the power of the industry. In order to prevent this, a planning system which is progressive and responsive to the dynamism of the industry needs to be developed, and coupled with a strong political will, or commitment to law enforcement, among industry actors. Local tourism officials would do well to undergo a series of training programs which are sustainable in nature and are aimed and improving their capacity to enforce existing law. Moreover officials should also be trained in developing skills associated with planning, where the need to consider, primarily, the sustainability of local communities is highly stressed.

But the most urgent consideration in tourism development nowadays relates to the empowerment of local communities. Locals also should be able to enjoy the fruits of development to which their home is subjected. It is ironic that in the past local communities have been mere onlookers, and the benefits of tourism are felt only by outsider - both tourists and investors. A n umber of mechnisms to ensure that economic profits of tourism are returned to their source need to be developed now, especially if we are to avoid the classic rhetorical question: Who is development for?

 

Photos courtesy of Inilah! Magazine

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