Kendari Continues To Develop Nambo Beach Tourism

JAKARTA, Sept 29 (Antara) - For many regions in Indonesia, tourism is the most important source of welfare, and the ability of the regional economy to benefit from tourism depends on the development of necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of tourists. The Southeast Sulawesi provincial city of Kendari has a lot of natural and seaside tourist attractions to develop to lure as many local and foreign tourists as possible. With this in mind, the city government of Kendary continues to pay a serious attention to the development of supporting facilities at the Nambo beach resort to provide peace and comfort for the visitors. Kendari Tourism Office Chief Baiduri Nehru admitted that his side has built various supporting facilities such as food stalls, public toilets, parking lots, gazebo, and various other facilities at Nambo Beach, the mainstay attractions in the city. Nambo beach has a stretch of very beautiful white sand, and is able to enchant a lot of visitors who come to this tourist area in the city of Kendari. Located some 12 kilometers south of Kendari city center, Nambo has a challenging landscape of beautiful hills that the visitors have to pass through before reaching the beach. To further promote this beach, each year the local government holds Nambo Beach Festival with a variety of activities and and cultural performances. "The Kendari city government holds the Nambo Beach Festival as an annual tourism event to promote the Nambo beach as one of the mainstay attractions in the city," Nehru remarked. Besides being a tourist spot, Nambo Beach is also a market for Creative Industry to raise creativity of Kendari city residents and to make Creative Industry players more productive and innovative in their work. Once the visitors get to the beach the soft and beautiful sand become their companion as they can simply sit and and relax in the nearby facilities. He said calm atmosphere, cool weather, soft white sand, and surrounding beautiful landscape can add up to the attraction of this beach. According to local residents, the location of Nambo beach was once a fairly dense mangrove forest, until one of the local entrepreneurs found a stretch of white sand in the middle of the mangrove forest cover. The businessman then bought some land there, which previously was owned by local communities, and then developed into a tourist attraction site. Mangrove trees in the middle of the ocean are cleaned so that there are no obstacles between the boundaries with the blue sea horizon view of the sky. Parking area, gazebo and public bathrooms have been built by the local local government. Now there are many coconut trees that grow as marched to meet the shoreline at this beach location. In addition to adding beauty of the beach, the coconut trees along the beach can also be used as a shelter when the sun hits. Nehru said Nambo beach is popular marine tourism object in Kendari, and can be reached in about 30 minutes. "The trip to Nambo beach is fun. Visitors can go along the Kendari strait while enjoying the mangrove forests and also fishermen villages," he said. The beach has the stretch of white sand for about 300 meters with calm and crystal clear water that invites many visitors on Sundays and holidays. Hence, the Kendari city government continues to optimize the management of tourist attractions in the area. All tourists attractions in Kendari will be managed optimally in order to boost local revenue. The local revenue generated from Kendaris tourism sector was still low despite the city's huge tourism potential. Therefore, the city administration should optimize the management of the area's tourism potential. In addition, cleanliness along the beach should be the fundamental responsibility of every individual in Kendari as collective responsibility actually means that no single person is held accountable. The residents of Kendari must be aware of the importance of cleanliness and also realize that it is everyone's responsibility, though in reality, they have little time to ponder over these matters. In a bid to make the visitors feel comfortable, the cleanliness of the Nambo beach must be maintained, especially of plastic waste and the rubbish of marine plants that smells unpleasant. Besides Nambo beach, another tourist attraction in Kendari is Bungkutoko island. Located just at the mouth of Kendari Bay and off the coast of Kendari city, Bungkutoko Island is easy to reach, but hard to forget. With its beautiful beaches, abundant native wildlife and pristine waters, this island has long been a beloved destination for visitors and local residents alike. Spending just one or two days on the Bungkutoko island is not enough for the visitors to enjoy the hospitality of the local community with its interesting culture and traditions, or to relish the beauty of nature at sunrise. In addition to the natural panorama of the coast, the underwater world of Bungkutoko island is also appealing, with various types of coral reefs, species of fish and other marine biota. Therefore, the Kendari city government is making every effort to develop the 500-hectare island of Bungkutoko as a tourist attraction by promoting it through a variety of tourism activities.