Tourism Infrastructure in Malang Needs Improvement

Malang, E Java - The roads to the beach resorts in the Malang regency of East Java have all been badly battered after years of being left untended. Many tourists that wanted to enjoy the beauty of the Balekembang beach have complained about the poor condition of the roads to the beach area. Apparently the regional administration had little appreciation of the natural beauty, a tourist Anita Sari said here after returning from the Balekambang beach in the sub-district of Bantur on Monday. Anita said tourists would think twice before deciding to return to that beach if the roads were not repaired. She said the facilities such as accommodation are not sufficiently available on the beach area to keep visitors to stay longer. Meanwhile, head of the Malang Bina Marga office which is in charge of road infrastructure, Mochamad Anwar said there has been plan to immediately repair the roads to Balekambang. It has been the priority in the development plan of the district administration this year, Anwar said . "We already submitted budget proposal for the project not only for roads to Balekambang but also for tourism facilities in other beach resorts in this regency," he said. He said the 3 kilometers main road via Wonokerto and Srigonco to Balekambang would be expanded to 4.5 meters, and the one 1.5 kilometers from Purboyo to the beach area would also be repaired. "We hope repairs of all roads leading to the beach areas would be completed in 2015 ," he said, adding "we already launch 'Visit Kabupaten Malang 2013'." Earlier, head of the district tourism office A Zakaria said his office already asked the government for Rp3.7 billion to develop the Balekambang beach resort to be more competitive as a tourist destination . Among the facilities included in the development plan are a 3-kilometer jogging track and a game center , he said. "We also has plan to build by phases accommodation facility for tourists including a star rated hotel," he said. He said the number of visitors to Balekambang averaged 70,555 per month . During the Idul Fitri holidays last month thousands of people flocked to Balekambang spending billions of rupiahs. The regency of Malang has a number of potential beach resorts, he said, adding there are at least 18 potential sites , but they all need investment for facility development. The 18 sites are located in six coastal sub-districts of Donomulyo, Bantur, Sumbermanjing Wetan, Ampelgading, Tirtoyudo, and Geangan. "In the sub-district of Donomulyo alone there are six beautiful beaches with white sparkling sand," he said. However, so far only Ngliyep, Sendangbiru and Balekambang have contributed to the regional income , he said, adding other still need large investment to transform them into an income earner.(*)