Information and Communication Technology Prospective on the

Development of an Integrated Green Tourism Area in Tiworo

Archipelago, Indonesia

HASMINA TARI MOKUI1, WA KUASA BAKA2, ANALUDDIN KANGKUSO3, ANDI SEPTIANA3, LA ODE SANTIAJI BANDE4, ABDI4 AND USMAN RIANSE4*

1Faculty of Engineering,

2Faculty of Cultural Science, 3Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Sciences,

4Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Halu Oleo, INDONESIA, 93232

*E-mail: usman.rianse@gmail.com; nisaahi.urianse@uho.ac.id; hasminatari.mokui@yahoo.com

www.uho.ac.id

Abstract: - Tourism has an important role in socio-economic growth and prosperity. The main objective of this paper is to elucidate prospective of ICT as a means of improving sustainable prosperity for integrated green tourism in the Tiworo Archipelago. Actual condition of the area has been presented covering geographical location, socio-economy as well as natural resources. It is found that ICT is prospective for the proposed projects in terms of biodiversity conservation, cultural preservation as well as socio-economy management. However, these solutions are highly affected by local people involvement within tourism activities in order to achieve poverty alleviation objectives. In summary, integrating ICT into green tourism management, local people will be able to get full benefits of the tourism activities and achieve sustainable prosperity and harmonization.

Key-Words: - ICT, green tourism, local resources, sustainable prosperity, biodiversity conservation, Tiworo

Archipelago

1 Introduction Tourism has an important role in socio-economic growth and prosperity. Recently, coastal tourism is one of the most favorable commodities in Indonesia, either by domestic or international visitors. Being blessed with rich culture and natural resources, Indonesia has huge potential for exploration of the marine and coastal resources as part of the clean industry. According to [1], there are several requirements for tourism as clean industry, i.e. nature-oriented programs, prosperity of local people, visitor satisfaction and community integration with the developed area. An integrated development considering

preservation of local resources is one key issue of sustainable prosperity. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a big role in order to deal with such issue. It has been shown in

[2] that the use of ICT in complex tourism business has positive relationships with environment and its sustainability. Moreover in [3], China –one major international tourist destination– has gained significant benefits from the ICT as well as internet. It is also suggested that future tourism will be totally ICT aware and e-business oriented. It is undeniably that fast development of ICT,

particularly internet as social media has brought significant change in tourism management and marketing. There are quite large number of research related to this matter, such as in [4]. However, the use of ICT as persuasive tools for monitoring and controlling as well as preserving natural resources while promoting tourism by using ICT needs to be explored more. Indonesia as an archipelago country has thousand

islands but most people especially foreigners are

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only familiar with some popular destination, such as Bali, Wakatobi, Raja Ampat and Bunaken. Meanwhile, Tiworo Archipelago has an outstanding natural beauties as well as authentic local cultures but this area is not popular for tourist destination. Detail about Tiworo Archipelago as a promising tourist destination has been published in the previous work [5] but up to now there is less publication of Tiworo Archipelago potentials. ICT is an important media for promoting cultural heritage and natural resources which become essential objects of tourism activities. Therefore, this paper will elucidate the prospective of ICT as a means of enhancing sustainable prosperity for integrated green tourism due to less publication.

2 Prospective of Tiworo Archipelago Tiworo Archipelago is situated in the triangle of Sulawesi Island (i.e. Kabupaten Konawe Selatan), Muna Island and Buton Island. Consisting of several islands, either occupied or unoccupied, Tiworo archipelago has tremendous prospective for an integrated green tourism area. Tourism prospective within this area can be

categorized into three following aspects [5]: (1) socio-economic and culture and health, (2) biodiversity of mangroves and coral reefs and (3) geographically covering a series of small islands with their authentic natural beauties. The following sections will briefly describe this promising tourist destination.

2.1 Socio-Economic, Culture and Health There are various stories related to the first people living in Tiworo Archipelago while every occupied island has its own story. For example, people in Gala Island are descendants of Suku Bajo, Muna and so on. Local knowledge of people in Tiworo

Archipelago includes the making of “Ambe” (i.e. traditional fish catcher), boat making technology, local art as well as traditional games. Local people still preserve local arts and traditional games and some of them are presented during particular events. As an example, Pencak Silat in order to welcome important guests while Mancak Dance is part of certain occasions such as Wedding Ceremony. Gender identification is exhibited also in the art performance by specifying Bandong Dance for female dancer while Kalloloang Dance is presented only by male dancers. Regarding traditional instruments, people in Pulau Tasipi normally play Gambus to celebrate family gatherings but there are limited people able to play such instrument.

Local people in Tiworo Archipelago normally maintain their living by working in quite common areas such as fisheries, agriculture, government etc. Some specific jobs can also be found, such as boat making in Pulau Tiga as well as basket making using local bamboo in Pulau Mandike. Some local people also run home based industries, for example budidaya rajungan (crab aquaculture), seaweed farming, as well as fish processing. Fish and seaweed processing are conducted by

women and most of them simply ignore safety concerns during the activities. For instance, it is hardly to find female workers wearing gloves while preparing the fish. Such that when the hand got injuries, they simply leave it for recovery without considering the use of either traditional or modern medicines for better treatment.

Figure 1 Transportation of fisherman logistics

Figure 2. A woman preparing crab meals. In general, health is still a crucial issue for

people in Tiworo Archipelago. Water scarcity is the

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main precursor of this problems. In addition to that, people are less aware to waste management such that rubbish produced from household activities are simply distributed to the sea. As a result, both people and marine biotic are endangered due to the aforementioned activities.

2.2 Biodiversity High biodiversity of coral reefs and mangroves is mostly found on the unoccupied islands. Underwater world of Tiworo Archipelago is not habitat of coral reefs only but also home for coral fishes with various colours and species. This part of world may present heavenly landscape for diving, snorkeling, research as well as other educational-related purposes. As for the coral reefs, there are at least six types

of coral shapes commonly found in the area, i.e. (1) branching, (2) massive, (3) encrusting, (4) tabulate, (5) foliose, and (6) mushroom. Figures 3-6 show some types of coral reefs as part of biodiversity in the Tiworo Archipelago.

Figure 3. Acropora clathrata

Figure 4. Gardineroseris planulata

Figure 5. Symphyllia valenciennesi

Figure 6. Goniopora columna (kanan) Mangrove ecosystem is also another significant

coastal tourism potential at Tiworo Archipelago. Most of islands with mangroves are unoccupied, such that its biodiversity remain healthy, and a lot of marine and terrestrial organisms stay looking for food and self-protection. All the islands in this archipelago also have beautiful seashores and white sandy beaches as well as atolls nearby. Figures 7-9 present mangrove ecosystems as well as atolls along the Tiworo Archipelago.

Figure 7. Kaluku Island with mangrove ecosystem

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Figure 8. White sands within mangrove forest at Kaluku Island

Figure 9. Masalokaan Island with its fresh water and unique mangrove roots

Figure 10 Atoll at Tiworo Archipelago

2.3 Geographic Location In terms of geographical position, Tiworo Archipelago can function as a buffer zone between two famous tourist destinations, i.e. Raja Ampat and Wakatobi Marine National Parks. Again, its location near to Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park will increase the capital values in the future. There are various ways to reach Tiworo

Archipelago .i.e. by taking flight to Kendari from Bali, Jakarta or other main cities in Indonesia. Once in Kendari, visitors can take boat or ferry straight to Tiworo as well as take another flight to Sugimanuru Airport at Muna Island and then continuing the journey by boat.

3 ICT for an Integrated Green

Tourism Area Coastal tourism basically combines biodiversity, cultural, as well as socio-economic resources of the area. Due to these characteristics, one particular area will suit to certain activities and at one specific condition. Therefore, discussion on ICT prospective for an integrated green tourism area will cover the three aforementioned aspects.

3.1 Biodiversity Conservation In Section 2.2, it has been described that Tiworo Archipelago has biodiversity that needs to be conserved. There are two main strategies to point out the use of ICT, as follows: - A complete database of fishes, coral reefs and mangroves is necessary to record biodiversity in the area. A study case in Egypt [6] shows that Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach can provide a complete database of endangered arboreal species including their spatial distribution. In this study, GIS provides extending analysis of areas for conservation as well as highlights the relationships of arboreal species and internationally important bird areas.

- A proper ICT-based early warning system to inform about pending threats. Coastal areas are susceptible to hazards due to natural phenomena or excessive human activities. In [7], there are two types of environmental hazards: (1) ongoing and rapid/sudden-onset, e.g. accidental oil spills, chemical plant accidents, etc. (2) slow onset (or “creeping”), e.g. slowly reduced air and water quality, soil pollution, coastal erosion etc. Moreover, a reliable communication system with emergency power supplies and back-up systems are crucial for disaster management [7]. Warning dissemination can be distributed by means of currently available communication tools, such as

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short message service (SMS), e-mail, social media, radio, TV, internet and many more. A master surveillance station is necessary to

monitor and control the whole dispersed islands along Tiworo Archipelago. Integration of the GIS-based approach and early warning system will improve performance of the coastal monitoring system that contributes to biodiversity conservation and marine protection in this area.

3.2 Cultural Preservation Cultural heritage is a legacy, passing over from generation to generation in the form of physical artefacts (e.g. monument etc.) as well as intangible elements (e.g. dance, oral tradition, etc.). Tiworo Archipelago with its long historical attributes requires proper actions in preserving and disseminating its cultural heritage such as Gambus music, traditional dance and other types of traditional art. There is no doubt that ICT can provide

significant benefits on cultural preservation. To be more specific, the ICT may contribute in the innovation and improvement of interventions in Cultural Heritage Education (CHE) [8]. It is found that ICT enlarges the distribution of learners by providing the possibility of distance learning [8]. The use of ICT in future tourism project will give maximal benefits for dispersed islands within Tiworo Archipelago. In addition to that, versatile form of ICT allows

adjustable ways of learning according to specific attitudes, tastes, talents and needs of the learners. Similarly, a web-based tool (called i-Treasures project) has been applied for intangible cultural heritage (ICH) education, particularly for transferring the rare-know behind ICH expressions [9]. Local people of Tiworo Archipelago have various characteristics and preferences and implementation of ICT for ICH will help preservation of local cultures such as Gambus or other art performances. Thus, there is large potential of ICT for

maintaining local cultural resources at Tiworo Archipelago. 3.3 Socio-Economic Management Socio-economic characteristics of the coastal

tourism in Tiworo Archipelago include community welfares, health level, security condition, exchange rate, climate conditions, marketing and other economic activities, as well as risks associated with unexpected hazards [5]. Direct involvement of local people with tourism activities is the main objective of poverty alleviation strategies proposed by

UNWTO [10]. With regard to this matter, management of the proposed integrated green tourism needs to include local people involvement while considering their socio-economic features. By this system, local people will be able to get full benefits of the tourism activities and achieve sustainable prosperity and harmonization. People in Tiworo Archipelago have been

exposed by ICT features for supporting their daily activities, such as SMS, social media etc. However, ICT penetration in this region is still limited. Meanwhile, ICT has restructured distribution chains in tourism industry such that there is a shift of power balance within its distribution channels [11]. Local people can apply ICT for managing private tourism, fish catching, and weather condition services as well as publishing their products through social media. An integrated tourism project requires also stake

holders including government, academia and private organization for the better management of the tourism industry. The case in France [12], an annual tourism event is held for beginner in ICT, particularly in the tourism industry. This event includes an award for the most creative and fully committed project on implementing ICT. For Tiworo archipelago, there is a large potential for voluntary works of university students for such ICT projects. In conclusion, local people in Tiworo

Archipelago need helps from the society, government and private organization for the cultural preservation and biodiversity conservation as well as development of tourism sector. However, any development programs should include local participation such that harmonization and sustainable prosperity can be achieved easily.

4 Conclusions This paper elucidates ICT prospective on the integrated green tourism area in Tiworo Archipelago. Possible ICT applications have been presented for biodiversity conservation, cultural preservation as well as socio-economy management. An integration of cultural preservation and biodiversity conservation into tourism activities will enhance the value of provided services. ICT with its versatility and world-wide acceptance is able to help local people of Tiworo Archipelago in achieving sustainable prosperity and harmonization.

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