REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANYUWANGI -- University of Ciputra (UC) Surabaya planned to develop tourism in Banyuwangi Batik Village, East Java. The planning was inspired by the success of Batik Village of Laweyan to Batik village of Kauman in Solo, Central Java.
Feasibility study will be done directly from this year. Stages, in the next five months, UC Surabaya will create a concept of tourism for Banyuwangi Batik Village, after that the land preparation that will take seven months. This is what, Menpar Arief Yahya, often referred to as Pentahelix, a combination of five elements that must come together and move together. Namely Academics, Business, Community, Government, and Media.
"All three of five of these elements must come together, the dam has a vision of Tourism, then I guarantee that this sector will increasingly ingrained and dependable," said Arief Yahya on Monday (13/6).
According Menpar, ideas and initiatives of University of Ciputra to make a batik village in Banyuwangi is a concrete example. Big idea, he added, can be from anywhere. But this time there is an inspiration from the academics, to make the ecosystem more alive with tourism in Banyuwangi. Furthermore, the the rule of thumb is – business Lead, government Support.
"The government is just a good regulator. They must not concurrently be the operator, let the business run. And the community can obtain concrete benefits, "said Arief Yahya.
University of Ciputra lecturer, Juliuska Sahertian and Head of the Laboratory of Fashion Department, Fabio Ricardo Toreh, claims to have met Banyuwangi regent Abdullah Azwar Anas and immediately received a positive response.
"This is purely an initiative by Ciputra University. Batik is the worldwide heritage and this a fact. UNESCO has admitted Batik as a cultural heritage since October 2, 2009. On the other hand, if Banyuwangi tourism rises very rapidly the per capita income of Banyuwangi will rise from Rp. 21 million in 2010 to Rp. 39 million in 2015 because of tourism. If these two forces combined into a tourist village of batik, the results will be overwhelming,” said the lecturer Juliuska Sahertian, Monday (13/6).
According to Juliuska, the tourism of the Batik village will become a centre of learning, development, and marketing of batik. “the storefront of the Batik village in Banyuwangi will have all kinds of eco-friendly batik in Indonesia. Complete with its background story, "he explained.
In addition, Banyuwangi has a significant development of batik. Fashion based industries in Banyuwangi is considered effective when combined with tourism development. Moreover, Banyuwangi also has a complete transportation infrastructure of land, sea, or air. Not to mention, the advantage of geographical location that is close to Bali – the main heart of Indonesia's tourism.
Juliuska continued that the landscaping of Banyuwangi Batik Village will incorporate local batik motifs. It will include 13 traditional houses from various provinces in Indonesia which are the producers of batik. In addition, there are facilities such as cottages, food and beverage stalls, flower gardens, fish ponds, nature rides, horse riding paths, and other tourist supporting infrastructure.
The next stage, he said, is the construction planning of the Batik Village. Univerisity of Ciputra would chose the team, both of which would teach the manufacture of eco-friendly batik and educate on how to design schemes to local crafters on batik fashion. Once ready, then they will begin construction of the Batik Village.
Banyuwangi regent, Azwar Anas immediately responded positively to the idea earlier. The presence of tourism for Banyuwangi Batik Village, can encourage the growth of batik industry and tourism districts of Java.
"With the support of East Java province, this year they initiated majors in Batik for Vocational High School (SMK) in Banyuwangi. Last October, the Ministry of Industry collects natural dyes in Indonesia to be displayed in Banyuwangi and when coupled with the tourism of the Batik Village, the creativity from the local batik, that ranges from the development of batik motifs to fashion design, will inevitably grow. Now batik artisans will start to enterprise production of batik because demand will grow due to tourism, "said Anas. The development of batik industry in Banyuwangi, according to Anas, will stay put as the main pillar of local SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise).