Literature review

In order to ensure the sustainability of any business sector, it is important to undertake the changes in social, political, environmental, economic and technology. Travel and tourism business sector is one of a kind that has undertaken those changes at a very large scale (Boniface, Cooper and Cooper, 2016). The business operation of travel and tourism business sector is largely affected by those social, political, environmental, economic and technological aspects. There are several factors that affect tourism industry positively and negatively.

In today’s world, natural disasters like a volcano eruption, climate change, flood, Tsunami etc are the main aspects that can occur at any time unexpectedly (Awedyk and Niezgoda 2018).  The locality of karo regency, North Sumatra is largely affected by the geophysical disaster of mount sinabung eruption. The number of tourists visiting the area have been dropped by 60% due to the continuous eruption of mount sinabung in karo regency North Sumatra. This paper will outline the importance of travel and tourism sector of Indonesia and how it is affected by the natural disasters like the volcano eruption of mount sinabung. This paper will also provide a whole lot of how it effects the locality and its economy.

Literature review

Commentary about the eruption and the area

There are 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia and Mount sinabung is one of them which for 400 years had been inactive. But since 2010 when a high mountain of 2.8 km has woken up, things got changed and Mount sinabung has started erupting and spreading fumes and ashes since then. The surrounding has become a no man’s land (Kusumayudha, Lestari and Paripurno 2018). Volcano eruption is something that experts cannot tell or unable to predict the time frame of eruption. 23 people were killed during the volcano eruption of 2014 and more than 25000 people were dislocated from a total number of 34 village during that time.

Besides this, karo regency is known for its natural and scenic beauty and a large number of people come every year to soothe the eyes and the beautiful views and the cool fresh air area of the highlands. There are some villages like Tiga Pancur Village, Perteguhan Village, Tiga Kicat Village which are the safe zones and the ideal viewing points for the tourists to enjoy the scenic beauty of glorious panorama of mount sinabung.

Affecting the tourism in the area where eruption occurs

There are several factors that affect tourism industry positively and negatively. In today’s world natural disasters like a volcano eruption, climate change, flood, Tsunami etc are the main aspects that can occur at any time unexpectedly (Welzer 2015). In last few years, the tourism industry of karo regency is largely affected by the natural disaster like the volcano eruption of mount sinabung. Karo regency North Sumatra is known for its natural beauty and its culture. People from all over the world come to this place at a large number every year.

The volcano eruption of mount sinabung has caused the tourist destinations of karo regency to lose its beauty and culture and the local economy for extended period of time (Thomas 2015). The local economy of karo regency depends heavily on the tourism industry for the livelihood of its people. The locality of karo regency, North Sumatra is largely affected by the geophysical disaster of mount sinabung eruption. The number of tourists visiting the area have been dropped by 60% due to the continuous eruption mount sinabung in karo regency North Sumatra. The recent eruption of 2017 has displaced 12,000 people from the regency. Karo regency is famous for producing vegetables and fruits. Mount sinabung eruption has disrupted local economy and smallholder farming in karo regency North Sumatra (Svara 2015).

Commentary about the eruption and the area

The hotels of karo regency are damaged financially due to the lack of tourists. In berastagi, a renowned tourist spot 30 kilometres from karo regency, a number of hotels had cancelled many events due to the increased activity of volcano. The eruption of mount sinabung has started from 2010 and until due date it has occurred a number of times. According to the estimation reported by the Jakarta post, the financial loss due to the continuous Mount sinabung eruption is huge and have reached to Rp 2 billion till the date and the number will increase in future.

Tourism business sector of karo regency has always been a key factor which brings economic development and new business opportunities in that region of north Sumatra. In order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism business industry, the possibility of natural disaster like volcano eruption of mount sinabung should be taken into account by the tourism industry of karo regency (Wulandari, Sagala and Coffey 2016). Tourism companies of Karo region should have a better disaster emergency plan in place which will make it easier for them to recover from the damage caused by the volcano eruption and at the same time it will also reduce the damage caused by this natural disaster.

Impact on tourists and the local people

The volcano eruption of mount sinabung, which is in north Sumatra, 40 kilometres away from the famous Lake toba, has become a common occurrence in Indonesia, particularly at this region of karo regency. The volcano eruption of mount sinabung directly affects the local people because of the services they provide in terms of transport and F&B services. The volcano eruption of mount sinabung, which is in north Sumatra 40 kilometres away from the famous Lake toba, has become a common occurrence in Indonesia, particularly at this region of Karo Regency.

Karo regency is known for its horticulture (production of vegetables and fruits). Mount sinabung eruption has disrupted local economy and smallholder farming in karo regency North Sumatra. The hotels of karo regency are damaged financially due to the lack of tourists (Tampubolon, Nainggolan, Ginting and Aritonang 2018). During the last volcano eruption of mount sinabung, the residential areas including roads and trails were totally damaged. Due to bad transportation and accessibility, the number of tourists visiting karo regency has been decreased by 60%.

A number of hotels in berastagi, a renowned tourist spot 30 km away from karo regency, had cancelled many events due to the increased activity of volcano during the last volcano eruption of mount sinabung (Wright et al. 2018). The local economy of karo regency depends heavily on the tourism industry for the livelihood of its people. The locality of karo regency, North Sumatra is largely affected by the geophysical disaster of mount Sinabung eruption (Budianto et al. 2017).

Research focus

There are several factors that affect tourism industry positively and negatively. In today’s world natural disasters like a volcano eruption, climate change, flood, Tsunami etc are the main aspects that can occur at any time unexpectedly. Natural hazards have caused an enormous damage to the travel and tourism industry again and again. The geographical location of karo regency is isolated and small structures which increases the probability of natural disturbance in those areas (Hariyono and Liliasari 2018). Mainly mountain areas of karo regency are prone to extreme natural disaster that directly affects the locality and the safety and enjoyment of the tourists. This research paper is focused on providing an overview of increased risk of damage by natural hazards in travel and tourism industry of karo regency, North Sumatra.

Effects on the tourism industry of Karo Regency

Interview linking to literature review

The literature review has covered the impact of natural disaster on the tourism business sector of karo regency North Sumatra. Karo regency North Sumatra is known for its natural beauty and its culture. People from all over the world come to this place at a large number every year. The volcano eruption of mount sinabung has caused the tourist destinations of karo regency lose its beauty and culture and the local economy for extended period of time (Hilman 2018). The locality of karo regency, North Sumatra is largely affected by the geophysical disaster of mount sinabung eruption. The number of tourists visiting the area has been dropped by 60% due to the continuous eruption mount sinabung in karo regency North Sumatra.

In order to get the full overview of the impact of mount sinabung eruption on the tourism business sector of karo regency, the learner has taken an interview of Mr. Shuren Ulaganathan, a Guest Relations Manager of The Fullerton Bay Hotel, F&B Department. The volcano eruption of mount sinabung, which is in north Sumatra, 40 kilometres away from the famous Lake toba, has become a common occurrence in Indonesia, particularly at this region of karo regency. When asked about the standard of procedures in a resort or a hotel in the area of Karo regency which is a prone to natural disaster like volcano eruption of mount sinabung, Mr. Shuren has confirmed that there is a lot of procedure and planning in case an eruption or some sort of disaster happens.

It is the hotel’s top priority to make sure the guests are informed as soon as possible and it’s a matter that isn’t in their hands. It is the duty of the authority of the hotel to make sure the safety of the guests and to execute disaster emergency plans in the highest order. In tourism business industry, every guest is important for the company as the word of one happy guest can go a long way for the business. Mr. Shuren confirmed that the volcano eruption of mount sinabung directly affects the local people because of the services they provide in terms of transport and F&B services. When the volcano eruption of mount sinabung occurs, the air gets thick, volcanic ash is everywhere, it gets hard to breathe.

The recent eruption of 2017 has displaced 12,000 people from the regency. Karo regency is famous for producing vegetables and fruits. Mount sinabung eruption has disrupted local economy and smallholder farming in karo regency North Sumatra. The hotels of karo regency are damaged financially due to the lack of tourists. In berastagi, a renowned tourist spot 30 kilometres from karo regency, a number of hotels had cancelled many events due to the increased activity of volcano. When volcano erupts from a mountain, it effects the locality directly and in order to make sure the safety of the tourists, there are a lot of contingency plans that has to be set up and a lot of service are affected during this time which means it effects a certain flow of revenue (Pyke, Law, Jiang and de Lacy 2018).

Impact on tourists and the local people

Mr. Shuren has also explained why it has become very difficult to promote tourism business sector of Indonesia especially for those areas with natural disasters. So, the promoting has to be done in the most informative way possible. Such natural disasters efforts overall economy of the tourism business sector as it causes lesser bookings which means lesser people in the hotel, lesser people in the hotel means lesser people to use whatever services the hotel provides.

Conclusion

Tourism industry contributes a lot to the economy of Indonesia. So, it is important to improve all the sector that shares ideas, culture, experiences to the tourists by all means. There are various problems the travel and tourism industry of Indonesia is facing now a days and the decision makers of the industry should come forward with a strategic and contingency plan in order to solve those problem.

Tourism business sector of karo regency has always been a key factor which brings economic development and new business opportunities in that region of north Sumatra. In order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism business industry, the possibility of natural disaster like volcano eruption of mount sinabung should be taken into account by the tourism industry of karo regency. This paper has outlined the importance of travel and tourism sector of Indonesia and how it is affected by the natural disasters like the volcano eruption of mount sinabung. This paper has also provided a whole lot of how it effects the locality and its economy.

References

Awedyk, M. and Niezgoda, A., 2018. Resilience planning as an opportunity for future sustainable development in tourism. Operations Research and Decisions, 28(2), pp.23-40.

Boniface, B., Cooper, R. and Cooper, C., 2016. Worldwide destinations: The geography of travel and tourism. Routledge.

Budianto, A., Prambada, O., McCausland, W., Pallister, J. and Iguchi, M., 2017. Overview of the eruptions of Sinabung eruption, 2010 and 2013–present and details of the 2013 phreatomagmatic phase. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

Hariyono, E. and Liliasari, S., 2018. Disaster Mitigation Model of Eruption Based on Local Wisdom in Indonesia. In Natural Hazards-Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Reduction. IntechOpen.

Hilman, Y.A., 2018. Disaster Management Concept of Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Centre in Ponorogo, Indonesia. Otoritas: JurnalIlmuPemerintahan, 8(1), pp.65-81.

Kusumayudha, S.B., Lestari, P. and Paripurno, E.T., 2018. Eruption characteristic of the sleeping volcano, Sinabung, North Sumatera, Indonesia, and SMS gateway for disaster early warning system. Indonesian Journal of Geography, 50(1), pp.70-77.

Pyke, J., Law, A., Jiang, M. and de Lacy, T., 2018. Learning from the locals: the role of stakeholder engagement in building tourism and community resilience. Journal of Ecotourism, 17(3), pp.206-219.

Svara, N.C., 2015. Horticultural Value Chains for Improved Livelihoods-Opportunities for smallholder farmers from the Karo Highlands, Sumatra, Indonesia (Master’s thesis).

Tampubolon, J., Nainggolan, H.L., Ginting, A. and Aritonang, J., 2018, August. Mount Sinabung Eruption: Impact on Local Economy and Smallholder Farming in KaroRegency, North Sumatra. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 178, No. 1, p. 012039). IOP Publishing.

Thomas, K.K., 2015. Masks of Sumatra. Asian Theatre Journal, 32(2), pp.575-597.

Welzer, H., 2015. Climate wars: What people will be killed for in the 21st century. John Wiley & Sons.

Wright, H.M., Pallister, J.S., McCausland, W.A., Griswold, J.P., Andreastuti, S., Budianto, A., Primulyana, S., Gunawan, H., Battaglia, M., Diefenbach, A. and Griswold, J., 2018. Construction of probabilistic event trees for eruption forecasting at Sinabung volcano, Indonesia 2013–14. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

Wulandari, Y., Sagala, S. and Coffey, M., 2016. The Impact of Major Geological Hazards to Resilience Community in Indonesia.