Sukamade Turtle Beach Around 78 km south of Banyuwangi with its deep turquoise water, 250 kg sea turtles and a long beach, surrounded by vast cocoa, coffee and rubber plantations, are to be found here.

A heavy cloud darkened Sukamade Turtle Beach one evening in Banyuwangi, East Java, in early June.

Stars could be glimpsed occasionally, but they soon disappeared as the clouds rolled across the sky and the beach turned black.

The native peoples of Mount Bromo, East Java, called Tengger Clan have unique traditional thanksgiving ritual, the Yadnya Kasada, will take place at Mount Bromo, Probolinggo district, on August 26-27 or 10 days earlier than last year when it was held September 6-7. 

Local Perspective for Indonesia Java International Destination

The articles brought together in this special issue of the IIAS Newsletter are centered on the question of how people at the grassroots level in the Asia-Pacific region have responded to international tourism. In view of the widespread negative view of the potential impact of tourism on local cultures and societies, it is interesting that recently it has also been suggested that local people in popular tourist destinations should not be regarded simply as powerless victims of tourism, as many earlier studies have implied.

Tourism world-wide is not infrequently characterized by situations in which the 'host' society has a great deal of control over tourism development, which enables local people to turn 'impacts' creatively into economic and cultural opportunities. In this special issue, too, the focus is on strategies that use the interest of tourists in local culture to strengthen local identity. After all, a striking characteristic of tourism is the way in which it promotes self-awareness, pride, self-confidence, and solidarity among people in host societies, as most of the contributions to this special issue demonstrate. 

by Inez Mahony

On Java, across a short stretch of water from Bali, is one of the most remote and fascinating national parks in Indonesia. Alas Purwo could be an enchanting travel destination for tourists and a treasure trove for those in the logging business.

The park, in the far southeast corner of Banyuwangi, covers 43,000 hectares of land consisting of savanna, mangrove forest, beach forest and lowland tropical forest. Indeed, the jungle embracing its beaches appears to have materialised straight from the sea. Alas Purwo is also home to rare and endangered mammals, including the Asiatic wild dog, wild oxen and leopards. Thousands of migrating birds visit its pristine forests each year and turtles come to lay their eggs on its secluded beaches. And for surfers, the park’s coastline boasts one of the best and most consistent reef-breaks in the world.