Book Review Java The Wonderland - The Dutch Way To Promote Indonesian Tourism

Book Review Book Java the Wonderland - The Dutch Way To Introduce Indonesian Tourism (Detha Arya Tifada / VOI)

JAKARTA - Call this article Indonesian tourism which contains the development of Indonesian tourism. Or let's say this is the history of Indonesian tourism. What is clear, this article will remind us, tourism should not be built if it is only based on the interests of investors.

The government's efforts to introduce Indonesian tourism to the public are increasingly intense. In history, we remember, in the past there was only Bali in the main list of tourists. Now, the government is carrying out a program called "10 New Bali".

This program will later be able to make destinations such as Lake Toba and Labuan Bajo as famous as Bali in bringing in travelers from all over the world. This is quite reasonable, considering that there are quite a lot of tourism potentials in the country that have great potential like Bali.

If you look back, to be precise during the colonial era, the Dutch colonial government also had the same concern when colonizing Indonesia. At that time, the Dutch East Indies government was moved by the number of tourists who often complained about the high cost of transportation and only deified tourist destinations, such as Buitenzorg (Bogor), Garut, and Borobudur Temple (Central Java) as places that must be visited.

On this basis, the tourism agency formed by the Dutch East Indies government named Batavia Vereeniging Toeristenverkeer launched a guidebook entitled Java the Wonderland (1900). The presence of this book was greeted with great fanfare by visiting travelers. Through this book, they know the beauty of other tourist destinations such as Sukabumi, Cianjur, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya.

All knowledge about tourism in Java will be awakened by reading this 170 page book. Readers can find tips for traveling in Java, a summary of the Malay language spoken daily, the hotels visited, comments from people who visit, to a collection of popular destinations. The details, are below:

Tips for traveling to the Dutch East Indies

At the start, readers of the book will be presented with a summary of important information containing tips for visiting the Dutch East Indies. In this section, travelers are asked to always provide a small amount of money for tips when using the boatman and coach services.

This, allegedly the lubricant for all affairs, in fact can optimize time because tips can make them enthusiastic about working. Not only that, the book owner also reminded travelers to always pay attention to luggage, especially valuables.

“…. Since hotel rooms in Java cannot be kept safe from anyone entering, valuables should not be left behind, even if only for a few minutes. If you don't have time to bring it, just keep it in the portmanteau (leather suitcase), then hand over the suitcase to the hotel clerk, ”written on page 3.

Popular Malay vocabulary

Without the need to bother, travelers in colonial times were provided with a complete vocabulary containing some popular everyday words. Some of these conversations, for example, "What time is dinner tonight?" Or "Can I have breakfast?" also written in the book.

For convenience, all words are written in two languages, namely English and Malay. This is proof that the owner of the book has thought of everything to make the coming travelers not rush home, but to enjoy all the destinations that are present through the book Java the Wonderland.

Traveler testimonials

One of the interesting strategies used to describe each tourist destination of the Dutch East Indies is the method. Hopefully, through a method that is still popular today, readers will immediately get an interesting picture of the tourist destination they want to go to.

For example, when visiting hotels in Batavia that have a unique luxury dining habit called Rijstaffel. "Miss Augusta de Wit in her most enchanting support, Facts and Fancies about Java describes the first experience of enjoying rijstaffel: For myself, I will never forget my first experience of it."

There are also testimonials from travelers who are crazy about the splendor of Taman Sari Yogyakarta. “Miss Eliza R. Scidmore explained her description about Taman Sari which is known as Water Castle through her book entitled Java, The Garden of the East. Water Castle for him is a paradise garden in the tropics, "contained on page 98.

Introducing another destination

If generally tourists only know Bogor, Garut, and Borobudur Temple in Central Java, this book explains more than that. Readers are invited to take a walk first to the tourist entrance to the island of Java, Batavia.

After that, travelers are invited to take a trip to visit Bogor, Sukabumi, Cianjur, Yogyakarta and others. In fact, in each destination there is information regarding recommended places to explore, complete with the types of vehicles that can support the trip.

Popular destinations listed in the book include Telaga Bodas (Garut), Taman Sari (Yogyakarta), Borobudur Temple (Central Java), and Mount Bromo (East Java). Even more interesting, the entire location is also equipped with a collection of photos that came from that era.

In the end, it is through this book that people will understand that the main foundations of Indonesia's tourism sector have been built a long time ago. Indonesia has always been charming. Natural and cultural wealth clearly has the potential to be promoted. However, whatever, everything must accommodate the interests of tourists, the nation and the state, not solely for the sake of investors.

Detail:

Book Title: Java the Wonderland

Author: Batavia Vereeniging Toeristenverkeer

First Published: 1900

Publisher: Aryhaeko Sinergi Persada

Number of Pages: 170