Indonesia and Malaysia Sustainable Tourism

Indonesia and Malaysia Sustainable Tourism

Tourism in modern day has achieved the finest form ever. There is so many country in the world has become vital part for their economic development. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, and so on put their tourism program as one of their main economic activity. There is so many job and was created by tourism industries. Because so many countries has dependent largely by tourism industry there is several countries try to expand their tourism industry and finding some innovations to attract tourist to came to their countries. Tourists have higher levels of disposable income and greater leisure time and they are also better-educated and have more sophisticated tastes. And they want something different and unique from what they have seen everyday. Because that, several countries trying to offer something new and different from the others to attract more tourist.
Indonesia and Malaysia both it has so many object spot for tourism activity, but in recent years we have found if Malaysia is more successful to attract foreign tourist to visit their country than Indonesia. It was become more easily to understand if what happened is Indonesia became the most favorite country for tourists to make a holiday. Because Indonesia has so many great places to attend than Malaysia, we can say place like Toba Lake, Bunaken Sea reef, Borobudur (the greatest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia region), Prambanan temple, and surely Bali with the exotic Kuta Beach and so many place which it must to be mentioned but it can’t because there is lot kind a place. But the reality is Malaysia in 2007 has been visited by more than 20 million foreign tourists from so many countries in the world and holds the tenth ranking. And Indonesia is lying in bottom in 37 ranking from 50 countries in the world with more than 5 million tourists. What can make Malaysia is more attractive and become famous destination than Indonesia?
Sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism is the answer. Malaysia since 90’s era, when Prime minister Mahattir Muhammad still rule Malaysia, has decided to make Malaysia economic activities just not come from their industry, mine, and agricultural. Creative economic such as like tourism industry must to expand and maintain to develop for made an integration economic activity. And then central government in Malaysia tries to make a new concept of their tourist industries, and then make their concept to be accepted by their subordinate. It was their decision to make the concept of their tourism industries as “Malaysia is truly Asia”, a concept which is we have been heard and seen not only in television, but every mass media like newspaper, billboard and so on. They had managing and planning the integration between tourism industries and other industries. It had been known if Malaysia has a medical tourism as one option for foreign tourist to visit Malaysia. And Malaysia too, was making their Petronas Tower as one favorite place to visit, Petronas tower is the main headquarter of Petronas inc. Company which is be owned by Malaysian Gov. And it was clear the main objective why Petronas tower must be built so high it was to attract more people to see Malaysia.
Malaysia is now one of destination place to making medical tourism in the world beside India, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa and Cuba. Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care. Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available. As a practical matter, providers and customers commonly use informal channels of communication-connection-contract, and in such cases this tends to mean less regulatory or legal oversight to assure quality and less formal recourse to reimbursement or redress, if needed. We can see if so many Indonesia people prefer to check their health condition in Malaysia than in Indonesia. It was been some irony, because a lot of Malaysian doctor study in Indonesia.
Malaysia tourism, is be known too by their cultural heritage tourism. They can accommodate between the new world which is have more sophisticated from and modern shape and old world which is still lay the traditional value and pure form of people culture. Malaysia has Putra Jaya, a modern city which is has been design as new capital of Malaysia Federation and Malaysia still manage with carefully about their old capital in Kuala Lumpur and reserve their old building which had been built by British government in past.
And Malaysia is became so successful to adapt their concept in reality and earning so many profits of that. Malaysia is truly Asia not only has been heard by people in Asia but in Middle East, Europe and America too. And Malaysia has been practicing what we know as sustainable tourism. But before we discuss about sustainable tourism, for first we must know about the definition about it. The definition about sustainable tourism is, "Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems . And in different definition is be mentioned as, sustainable development implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) .
If we see from the definition about sustainable tourism, we can see if Indonesia government doesn’t too care about sustainable tourism. We can conclude this based on several examples in everyday life, how many laws Indonesia government had been made for protect their culture and arts, and how much money Indonesia government have been spent every year for promoting about Indonesia tourism. Although we could see if Indonesia government lacking attention for its tourism industry and sustainable tourism program, in recent years now they looking to starting more seriously to develop their tourism industries. Since then we can see if Indonesia government is was came too late to implement what we called sustainable tourism.
Sustainable tourism in Indonesia just arises in several provincial region like Bali and Yogyakarta. Only in two provincial these we can see if tourism industry had been accommodated with the cultural heritage, environment development and sustainable development of socio culture of its people. It was easy to understand why the government in those two, giving their attention for tourism industry. Bali and Yogyakarta is not central of economic business like Jakarta or Batam, both didn’t have plenty natural resources like Papua, Aceh or Kalimantan provincial. It makes them to trying to dependence their main economic activity from tourism industry. As we can see now, Yogyakarta is the most famous central education in Indonesia, and has lot of education tourism. And Bali it was the most famous destination to be visited by foreign tourist, thanks to their exotic places like Kuta Beach and their rich cultural heritage.
But in other provincial in Indonesia, we can’t see what happened in Yogyakarta and Bali. Short of infrastructure, cultural challenge, and lacking attention from government had become obstacle from other provincial region to expand their tourism industry. It was been clearly to understand, if Indonesia central government doesn’t have major concept to accommodate all of their tourism industry in all region in Indonesia. Every region must be making their concept without cooperation between other provincial regions. It is very different situation happened in Malaysia, central government in Malaysia accommodated every interest of all federal government in Malaysia and combining it in one grand major concept.
In Indonesia, tourism industry didn’t receive much attention by government. Indonesia government seems more let the industry growing without right guidance. As examples, in many cases like happened in Puncak West Java, government let peoples to built so many villa and cottage and it was making decrease the quality of Puncak environment. Lacking attention too, it was be shown by the short of money Indonesia government spends for tourism and maintain their old place or historical place in many cities in Indonesia. In many museums in Indonesia, conditions of these museums are very bad and poorly. However, Indonesia government was realize what became their drawbacks in past, and in recent years they was try to giving more intentions for tourism industry. We can see if Indonesia government starting to promoting the Indonesia tourism in abroad, starting to built infrastructure of tourism, starting to making laws and spends more money than before for promoting Indonesia tourism.
Comparison between Indonesia sustainable tourism and Malaysia sustainable tourism like we had seen here, had aiming us to one conclusion. Malaysia government is more care and giving more attention to make their tourism industry to arise to equals like tourism industry in developed states like France, Italy or Spain. And since Indonesia has more potentially places and having rich cultural heritage, Indonesia government cannot expand and using their advantage to make their tourism industry more attractive than their adversary.