04/10/2014Paul Summers Planning Strategies1 Positioning Lombok Timur for Successful & Sustainable Long-Term Tourism Competitiveness, Niche Marketing, Key

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04/10/2014 Paul Summers Planning Strategies 1

Positioning Lombok Timur for Successful & Sustainable Long-Term Tourism

Competitiveness, Niche Marketing, Key Points of Difference & Protecting Assets for the Future

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Introduction

The concept of sustainability The Noosa and Summers context Relationships Lombok Timur & Noosa Lifestyle differences and their importance in tourism Indonesia, Lombok Timur and their competitive advantages Identifying key points of difference for sustainable tourism and

marketing The importance of planning, management, monitoring and

enforcement How to prepare good plans Apologies to those who attended the symposium on sustainable

tourism – there’s lots of new stuff, but you have seen some of it before


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Sustainability: The So-Called Triple-Bottom Line


‘Sustainable outcomes’ are claimed to be achieved by focus on the 3 elements: Economic Environmental Social

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ECONOMY

SOCIETY

ENVIRONMENT

Sustainability: The Reality

ECONOMY

SOCIETY

ENVIRONMENT

Question: Is the economy a pig?

Problem: The economic leg acts as if there:• Is no

tomorrow; and

• Are no limits


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Sustainability: From Space


Sustainability: From Space

There are limits!!

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Sustainability: A More Realistic Model


Environment

Society

Economy

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Sustainability & Tourism

Sustainability is all about our children and leaving the world a better place for them

Indonesia has been discovered and is firmly on the mass-market destination agenda – for reasons discussed later

So you can choose to do nothing and your market will grow … … but only for a while!!!! New places to visit are continually sought by this market If you destroy what is attractive to the market, then it is easily lost If you plan to leave the world a better place for your children, then

destroying their ability to earn a living by destroying the assets on which their income will rely is the opposite of sustainability


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Noosa


A beautiful place … like Lombok … with a delightful coast …

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Paul Summers Planning Strategies 9

A picturesque hinterland … like Lombok

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But unlike Lombok it has no coral, no coconuts, no rice paddies, no pearls, no black sand beaches, no berugaks … it has some other features though …

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Lombok & Noosa


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Context: Noosa - Region

130 km north of: Queensland’s capital – Brisbane (international airport)

Let’s say is a little like Jakarta 200km north of Australia’s

tourism capital and Queensland’s glitz and glamour capital – Gold Coast (international airport)

A little like Bali Adjoins the balance part of

what is known as the Sunshine Coast (international airport)

A little like Lombok generally Noosa and Lombok Timur

The little sisters

Djakarta

Bali

Lombok

Lombok Timur

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Noosa: Statistics


Area: 865km2

Protective Tenure: about 40%

Resident Population: about 52,000

Population Peak Season: about 90,000

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Noosa: How is tourism funded?


Employment in Tourism Industry: Queensland: 6% Sunshine Coast: 22% Noosa: 30%

Typical occupancies Tourism Noosa is funded by:

Membership fees; and

A proportionally-applied levy on commercial and industrial land

Every commercial and industrial property benefits from tourism and therefore every property contributes

Currently the levy provides around $1.4M for Tourism Noosa each year

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Family


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Wust Road


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Produce & Revegetation


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Paul Summers Planning Strategies 18

Noosa & Escapism City Symbols:

High-rise Big bulky

buildings Congested

beaches Open space is

hard to find or difficult to access

Traffic congestion

Parking meters Multi-lane roads Development

dominates the landscape

Noosa Symbols: No high-rise Domestic scale A place on the beach Urban areas include

extensive access to open space

Low stress traffic environment

No parking meters Limited but efficient

multi-lane roads Landscape dominates

development

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Sustainability: Working with Limits

To maintain Noosa’s competitive edge, we: Imposed limits on development – with strict planning controls on height,

gross floor area, number of persons capable of being accommodated, etc. Protected extensive areas of land for open space and prevented

subdivision (issue of new certificates) and major development Purchased land to add to the conservation network

Noosa did this because we recognised that if we grew too large we would lose our competitive edge …

… in other words we would destroy what it is that makes Noosa attractive to visitors

So having established limits we then used those limits as part of Noosa’s marketing

… in other words we established our own market niche based on quality of product, not on access by mass marketing


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… So What Does This Mean for Lombok Timur Noosa was no accident … it was planned One of the best planning clichés I know is:

If you fail to plan … … you plan to fail!

Noosa developed its own plan and created its own destiny despite superior levels of government at the time not supporting its approach … today the Queensland Government has recognised Noosa as a Queensland Icon

So the questions for Lombok Timur are: Do you have a plan? Has Lombok Timur identified the key points of difference to its competitors and to

other destinations in Indonesia? Has Lombok Timur identified its critical assets and protected those assets for

future sustainability? Is tourism planning integrated with other planning such as infrastructure, land use

and community planning? Is Lombok Timur building on its natural advantages – its people and its places? Is tourism paying its way?


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Who owns the coral? So if the community (via the government) owns the coral,

how much does the community (government) receive from every visitor to the coral? … Rp0!!!!


A hint before we start … this is about community assets starting with Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno & Gili Air as examples, but you could use waterfalls, forests, mountains, etc.

Off to Gili Indah

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Off to Lombok Timur Islands

What about Lombok Timur’s islands such as Gili Sulat, Gili Kondo, etc.

Who owns the coral? And how much does the community (government)

receive from every visitor to the coral? … Rp0!!!!

And are the corals in the east better than those in the west? … yes, by many times

So if the corals are so much better … … why are visitors paying the same price … Rp0? !!!

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Good Management, Planning & Income All natural resources are sensitive to impacts from humans … and humans are natural polluters and exploiters … and therefore humans are very good at destroying natural resources So good management is essential for the sustainability of natural resources Good management relies on good planning Good planning relies on good research and analysis and good consultation

with stakeholders Good research, analysis and consultation requires funding HOWEVER … good plans are:

Useless if they are not properly implemented and enforced And when this occurs they are dangerous as they raise expectations that will not be

delivered

So funding is essential not only to produce the plans, but to ensure they are properly implemented – ensuring sustainability of the natural resources that come under pressure from visitors


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Building Community Capacity for Tourism


Despite the need for funding to protect natural resources, there is an easy and cheap path to building community capacity for tourism

It relies on local people telling stories of their lives and the places they live

Remember that the Indonesian way of life, the food, the lifestyle, the homes, the agriculture, etc. is all very different, particularly for western visitors …

… so what is very ordinary and maybe boring for Indonesians is wondrous and magical for western visitors

There are two good examples where this is happening already.

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Tetebatu Tetebatu has established a

range of community-driven, guided visitor activities including: Mt Rinjani trekking Community waterfalls and

swimming holes (built and maintained by the community including daily rubbish collection)

Learning about rice (rice paddies, brick-making, pests, scarecrows, worms, other agriculture, spice trees, rice threshing, water distribution, etc. all being part of a tour)


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Labuan Pandan Labuan Pandan, a much smaller community in

Sambelia, has commenced a programme of tours and accommodation-provider cooperation to:

Improve product Provide visitor information Train guides Improve English speaking Increase visitation Increase employment

It has achieved this of its own volition and without government assistance

Labuan Pandan aspires to be the community providing:

Guided access to Gili Kondo (a temporary island given sea level rise prospects) and its corals; and

Oversight of the island and its corals on behalf of the government


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Opportunities for Building Community Capacity in Tourism


Rice growing and by-products

Coconut growing, products and cooking

Pearl culturing Agriculture

generally Bamboo Ocean and island

sunrises and moonrises

Mangrove snorkelling

Desert island picnics and snorkelling

Foreshore walks on black sand beaches

Lian trees and forests

Mosques Village life &

Berugak Indonesian boats Fishing, shellfish

and other food gathering

The following tourism opportunities have been identified by the Labuan Pandan community:

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Indonesia’s Competitive Advantages (emphasis on western visitors)

Very cheap, as compared to many Asian destinations and especially as compared to non-Asian destinations:

For example, flights from/to Australia as low as IDR1.5m AUD144

Accessibility to corals: For example, trips from Cairns in Queensland to the Great Barrier Reef

cost around IDR2.6m AUD250 Yes, its cheaper to fly to Indonesia then take a day trip to the Great

Barrier Reef!!!

Significantly different lifestyle, culture and foods Relatively short distances to markets in Australia, New Zealand,

China, Japan, Middle East countries: For example, 5.5 hours Brisbane AUS to Denpasar INA


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Lombok Timur’s Current Competitive Advantages Aside from its beautiful natural assets

and its wondrous cultural assets, Lombok Timur has significant competitive advantages over other parts of Lombok

Great accessibility to spectacular corals and mangroves

There is no ‘in-your-face’ selling It is quiet and relaxed There are few major traffic jams It is not over-developed (as a

consequence prices are cheaper) The beaches are generally clean

These are your key points of difference that will set you apart in the tourist market [and they cost you nothing (!) save for the cost of their protection]


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Threats to Lombok Timur’s Competitive Advantages

It is obvious that failing to protect current advantages puts assets at risk … let’s unpack this a little more using potential development on Lombok Timur’s islands as an example

These islands: Have near perfect corals (in far better condition than those of Gili Indah – because they have

not been subjected to the same impacts) Are low lying and some will likely disappear in a few decades (due to sea-level rise)

Yet I understand these islands are being considered for major tourism development! Off-shore accommodation provides few benefits for mainland operations It is far better to base accommodation on the mainland for many reasons including:

services are in existence or are more readily provided, a knowledgable employment base is in existence and bad weather does not lead to isolation and hazards, etc

The islands of Lombok Timur are gems that require protection – if accommodation is contemplated for the islands it should be camping-based – a different product to that at Gili Indah

Replicating the mistakes made in the north-west will not provide a sustainable future for the east


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Some Thoughts About Lombok Timur’s Future – Rubbish & Environment

Rubbish is bad for the environment and offensive to western visitors … we find it very confronting

Comparatively Lombok Timur is clean

Guess the location: First, Senggigi, Lombok’s

premier destination! Second, Gili Kondo Third, Pink Beach


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Further Thoughts About Lombok Timur’s Future – The Value of Locals Local communities live with and understand the sensitivities of their local

assets and they also have the best knowledge of them They are best placed to value, interpret, manage and oversee those natural

assets Some examples:

Local guides in Lombok Timur anchor carefully in coral areas to ensure that no damage occurs using parkir

On Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno & Gili Air ‘guides’ anchor using the coral, destroying the very asset their visitors come to see

Local fishermen in Lombok Timur use traditional methods of catching fish Outsiders ‘bomb’ the corals

Getting locals involved in the plan-making process will produce a better and stronger plan

Providing locals with responsibility for implementing parts of the plan and overseeing the interpretation and protection of assets will greatly assist in delivering sustainability


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Good Plans Lombok Timur needs a plan for tourism This plan needs:

An overall strategy identifying how the various areas relate to one another and can work together in a complementary way

To be guided by the ability to provide services and infrastructure (especially water, effluent disposal and transport) – in other words the tourism outcomes need to be integrated and coordinated with infrastructure and services

Detailed action plans for local areas

The plan also requires: Local community involvement Provision for local ownership of activities

Maintaining the competitive advantages that Lombok Timur already has is essential Start small – there’s an old saying: Look after the cents and the dollars will look

after themselves – growth will occur but it will be the little things that make the difference in Lombok Timur

The necessity of good internet access – absolutely critical and very sadly lacking in Lombok Timur

So how do you make a good plan …


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Paul Summers Planning Strategies 3404/10/2014

Finally … Good plans (and in fact any sort of planning) can be

assisted by asking and answering 4 questions Where are we now? Where are we going? Where do we want to be? How do we get there?

Planning Theory 101

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Today The Future

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Further Information, Questions Discussion

Further information: www.paulsummersplanning.com.au www.noosa.qld.gov.au www.visitnoosa.com.au

This presentation (will be uploaded by Wednesday next week) to: www.paulsummersplanning.com.au and click Presentations &

Publications in the left menu

Paul Summers Planning Strategies 3504/10/2014

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04/10/2014Paul Summers Planning Strategies1 Positioning Lombok Timur for Successful & Sustainable Long-Term Tourism Competitiveness, Niche Marketing, Key