Welcome to PJCC

From Traveling Program to Tourism Goes to School

The development of tourism system in Papua seems to have no progress. This is just because there is no clear understanding of tourism development which could touch the very basic and clear implementation of this system. This could be like a time bomb that will destroy everything in the future, if the application of tourism development methodology which is applied now never touch the very basic element of local indigenous and custom aspects – everything related to the local content understanding -  in the development of tourism system, so the social and cultural explosion could be potentially happen anytime in the future, and it cannot be kept away. Tragically, this thing is never being understood by all stake holders, that it creates a chaotic space in the mind setting of our local tourism development system. Moreover, it will be a great loss if it is being overtaken by the money oriented people who have no heart to develop this country, so that all treatments done to achieve a better progress in tourism industry will be like catching the wind by using a fish net, and there will be no body to put their responsibility up on this case.

This will be a completely dilemmatic problem, where there is no capacity development done up on the local community around the tourism spots, while we know that the human resource development that have to be done above this thing is supposed to be done continuously and sustain ably, under a long term education consideration. That is why we tried to start with a pilot mind set about the development of formulating a very essential tourism education system that carries out all of the content of local tourism aspects. Started by collaborating the “Traveling Program” (at that time was an extra-curricular program of SMAN 1 Sentani) ; it was in 2008, where the students are given the basic understanding of everything related to tourism world, as well as some field learning activities which is done around some tourism spots all over Sentani; Jayapura  Regency. “Our special thanks’“ is given to one of the SMAN 1’s teachers – Agustha H. Kopeuw, who has already welcome us – Papua Tour Guides Community (PaTGom) – to start applying this idealism without thinking about the payment (voluntarily work), we have done something in cooperation with Khenambay Education center which is run by John Hallatu for the English skill training, so this becoming a guiding light to show that “Tourism Goes to School” program that has been applied in Jayapura Regency under the main concern of supporting the 3^rd Lake Sentani Cultural Festival 2010 could be recognized as a basic indicator of the development of tourism aspects that rely on the characteristic of other tourism objects or destinations in Papua.

The legal certificate as the tour escorts for our trainees has been given by the chair person of the committee of the 3^rd Lake Sentani Festival – Anna O.S.H. Saway. This serious training is done in the way of collaborating the working experience of the trainers which is combined with the content of local tourism potency – by the instructors from PaTGom and ASITA – and the five intensive training days which is done from 10^th – 14^th of May 2010, and continued by a filed simulation trip called Sentani Overland Tour started from the office yard of BPKB Provinsi Papua in Sentani, by using the bus to Tutari Megalitic Site  in Doyo lama Village, to McArthur Monument in Ifar Gunung, Trekking to Harapan Kampong, and finished in Kalkhote – the location of festival celebration. The next field trip was done on May 28^th. This also became the launching of the lake tour package. Started from Toware lake port, the trip was done to Donday Village, Abar Village, Ifale and Asey village and finished in Kalkhote lake port by using the Onomi 1 and Onomi 2 cruise ship.
The culinary training as one part of the community development and commuity capacity development has been done by us by taking Abar Village as lunch spot of this lake tour package. In PaTGom, we have a Papua Jungle Chef Community which is run by Charles Toto, to carry out the local appetite to be formulated in to the international standard foods, and this is also a part of education we bring in tourism goes to school, specifically for those who has become the escort guide.

Hopefully, This Tourism Goes to School Program could creates an interaction within all aspects among the community who have the tourism object, local Government, and the escort Guides of PaTGom as the student community who take part in deep study of tourism implementation. There is a believe that this thing can contribute a great advance in the development of potential tourism spots in Papua. Wish this is enough for the first explanation about this program to complete our site; tourismgoestoschool.blogspot.com, to be run naturally based on the natural instinct of Papuan tourism. Wish this is the time that comes to heed a certain call for us, the children of this land, we try to collect the seeds of Papuan human resources who understand the essential value of tourism development in Papua, the richest land in the world that full of hidden misteries. God Bless Papua. (Andre Liem / translated by John Hallatu)