Tourism is a priority of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. He has built a lot of infrastructure for it. He has created a friendly policy toward investors. He has also conducted a friendly policy toward foreign tourists – but he has often forgotten his own people.
Many infrastructure developments do not bring prosperity to local communities. The government needs to powder the rough faces of Indonesian tourism.
Kota Batu, East Java, is a tourist location that is often proudly touted by the government. The city has a million charms and stunning natural scenery, but a tourism policy that doesn’t consider the environmental impacts has resulted in damage there.
In 2005 , there were 111 water sources commonly used by residents in Kota Batu. Between 2012 and 2014, the presence of resorts and hotels abounded in the city, and one by one springs used by citizens vanished, leaving only 58 sources of water by last year, according to Tirto.id.
The construction of Kulon Progo Airport in the Special Region of Yogyakarta in order to support the tourist area of Borobudur is also problematic. The construction of the airport violates the spatial plan of the Java-Bali region as specified in a 2012 Presidential Regulation and an earlier provincial regulation, which include no mandate for the construction of airports in coastal Kulon Progo. In fact, the area has been designated as a geological protected zone because it is a tsunami-prone area.
This is an excerpt from an article originally published by Asia Times.Â
