Bandung - Cultural Centre 2006: Bandung, Central Java

By Wombat | February 20th, 2006 | No Comments

In an article by Arya Dipa, the city of Bandung in Central Java is going ‘all out’ to be a city of culture and art this year. Festivals, International events, and a massive revamp will all go towards creating that arty atmosphere.

Bandung to be art and culture city in 2006
Arya Dipa, Bandung

Parijs van Java (Paris of Java) and Kota Kembang (City of Flowers) are Bandung’s former nicknames, when the city was still proud of its fresh natural environment with a temperature range of 19 to 20 degrees Celsius. In the ’90s, Bandung grew warmer, reaching an average temperature of 23.8 degrees Celsius, and became a shopping and culinary city.

Thousands of shopping places, factory outlets and restaurants mushroomed, earning the city around Rp 80 billion in tourism revenue, or about 65 percent of its Rp 125 billion locally generated income. Though only 652 big and small eateries were officially listed, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association recorded 36,000 eateries in Bandung, or more than half of the 70,000 registered eateries throughout West Java.

Factory outlets and shopping centers grew into the hundreds, with 51 outlets found in the Dago shopping district alone, leading to a ban on the opening of new stores there following public complaints about traffic jams.

Tourist arrivals also invigorated the hotel business, raising the weekend occupancy rate of 212 star-rated and lower-class hotels to over 80 percent at their 6,400 rooms, with 219 other amusement centers enjoying a boom until recently. However, the shopping and culinary tourism industry is now considered to have reached saturation point, prompting Askary Wirantaatmadja, head of Bandung’s tourism office, to change his strategy by trying to offer more art and cultural events to boost tourist arrivals in 2006.

“We have to provide some added value so that tourists won’t get bored of only eating and shopping here,” said Askary.

In 2005, Bandung, 116 kilometers from Jakarta, was visited by around 1,750,000 local tourists, over half of whom came from Jakarta to spend weekends and holidays shopping on Jl. Dago, in the city’s Cihampeulas jeans center and at the Cibaduyut shoe center, and dining in northern Bandung. Foreign visitors totaled only about 60,000.
This year’s target is 2,016,000 domestic tourists and 84,000 foreign tourists, which is quite high in view of the problems with the Cikampek-Purwakarta-Padalarang turnpike, which has extended the travel time from Jakarta to Bandung from 1.5-2 hours to over three hours and lowering hotel occupancy rates by 20 percent.

The art and culture sale strategy, according to Askary, is inseparable from Bandung’s lack of nature tourism. Nature spots on the city’s outskirts, like Lembang, Ciwidey and Pangalengan in the north, fall under the Bandung regency administration.

Spiritual tourism can only rely on one spot, the Islamic boarding school of Daarut Tauhid, owned by K.H Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa Gym), which draws at least 37,000 visitors a month. With art and cultural events planned for the whole year, Askary said the Braga Festival at the end of 2005 marked the beginning of this new focus.

The municipal tourism office and the West Java Tourism and Culture Office are committed to organizing similar events throughout the year, in addition to the shows held every weekend in Taman Budaya Dago.

“We will also hold international exhibitions and meetings,” said Askary. In March, a musical drama will be staged, followed by an Asian-African art performance in April. The Mojang-Jajaka Parahyangan (Miss and Mr. Bandung) pageant is slated for April-June, with Kemilau Nusantara (Radiance of Indonesia) on the agenda in August to showcase Bandung’s past as the “flower city”.

“September will witness Jasmara, a flower parade like those organized in other countries,” he added. At the end of the year, the Braga Festival will again be held. Meanwhile, a lot of local traditions have yet to get a boost from the tourism service. Among these are sheep fights held regularly in such places as Babakan Siliwangi and Arcamanik, and Benjang, a traditional martial arts in Ujungberung.

Mostly enjoyed by local people, it is hoped these events will attract domestic and foreign visitors. Though rather late, the goal of turning Bandung into a city of arts and culture is worthy of appreciation.