LANDSCAPE AS AN OUTDOOR RECREATION FORM (Case Study The Netherlands1 and Bali, Indonesia2) by I Gusti Bagus Rai Utama3 Dhyana Pura University, Bali email:
[email protected]
ABSTRACT As it is known, leisure has a huge impact on the earth’s landscape. Where as landscapes change because of natural and human forces. The change of landscape as a result of leisure related issues tend to have either positive or negative impact on the landscape. It is also evident that landscapes are of different nature and due to this; they have different leisure and tourism potential. The research report therefore analyses the potential if countryside landscape in the Southern part of Netherlands, and villages in Bali. Specifically, the report focuses on a central question “how could outdoor recreation contribute to the development of attractive cultural and natural landscapes in the province of Drenthe, and Bali as comparative studies?” The research group therefore is determined to try and present the area of Drenthe and Villages in Bali research on its potentials on development of outdoor recreation. The report focuses on the weaknesses, strengths and opportunities that are considered for the development of the Drenthe as a cultural and natural landscape destination. Keywords: landscape, outdoor recreation, leisure, tourism
INTRODUCTION Tourism is seen an agent of preservation and change of landscapes and landscape elements. For example, when tourism opportunities are expanded in an area, much action and change takes place within the area. This change may include creation of walking paths, beatification of the area, and rise of new buildings among others. On the other hand landscapes are transforming from production to consumption. Many destination areas are noted by the differences in landscapes, such as Netherlands is seen as having a flat landscape while Spain maybe hilly. The pace and scale of change associated with landscapes vary considerably from place to place and for any particular place, from time to time. Wall once pointed out that traditional, relict, modified and new landscape features may be juxtaposed in a kaleidoscope of land uses and visual forms, and these features may have different meanings to different people. (Wall, 2000: 51) For instance in the Netherlands, tulips may be seen as great attraction to the foreigners but to the Dutch people, they might see it as simply farming. Due to 1
The Study was conducted qualitative research by observation, and desktop research in 2007. Comparative study with villages in Bali. 3 Master of Arts program alumni from Professional CHN University, Leeuwarden, Netherlands, in International Leisure and Tourism Studies, (2007) 2
1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2553138
the differences from regions to regions, strategies of promoting destination visits have taken a different perspective. Those strategies sometimes are planned to boost tourist potential, and to protect areas from being over visited. As such, it can be regarded that outdoor recreation and tourism developments influence landscapes. In this case, the objectives of different strategies are designed to keep balance of the impact on outdoor recreation and tourism on landscapes.
Aim of the research The report main aim is to discuss the current situation of Drenthe’s landscape. It will stretch the research on various issues such as which are the opportunities that Drenthe has on developing attractive outdoor and cultural recreation in Drenthe and specifically the village of Gieten 4 which is situated in Drenthe, and compared with landscape’s Bali as an outdoor recreation form. Problem Statement While involving desktop research and observation of the research area, the main overall objective of the research is focused on how outdoor recreation can contribute to the development of attractive cultural and natural landscapes in the province of Drenthe as form of outdoor recreation. The Province is one of the three northern provinces of the Netherlands. It is an extremely attractive province with a variety of beautiful landscape and compared with landscape’s Bali as an outdoor recreation form. Objectives of Research The objective of the research is to analyze outdoor recreation in Gieten and the contribution to the development of attractive cultural and natural landscapes in the province of Drenthe, and Bali, Indonesia. Then, detailed research questions are settled for further research, which will be mainly carried out by observation and photographing as data collection. To answer all the research questions listed in the checklist, qualitative by SWOT analysis to contribute the result analysis in consequence. Research questions The study was aimed at knowing how the outdoor recreation contributes to the development of attractive cultural and natural landscapes in the province of Drenthe, and compared with landscape’s Bali as an outdoor recreation form.
LITERATURE REVIEW The Natural and Cultural Landscapes as an Outdoor Recreation Form. The term “landscape” refers to an ideological concept, which stands for a group of people from certain classes and signified them. On the other hand, it reflects the way these people balance their lives with nature. (Cosgrove, 1984:15) One of the landscape attracting points to tourists may be authenticity, which creates the opportunity for visiting places keeping remote from metropolis and crowdedness. Goode (1994) promoted that urban tourism will be in necessity of 4
Case Study was conducted at Gieten Village, Drenthe Province, Netherlands.
2 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2553138
being informed by tourists initially as “indigenous” population. Moreover, he mentioned that, in most cases, dwellers are getting fewer and fewer. Dimension of participating and partnership lies in the balance between the public authority and development communities. This means that public authorities may be engaged in building amenities for recreational purposes, but there has to be the involvement or partnership between local development clubs and perhaps leisure entrepreneurs (Williams 1995). Consequently, heritage manipulation could be in the tendency to attract officially attention, and get abstracted from a more authentic community past. Towards the project of Drenthe, there are two points of concentration: first, the conception of landscape is not the same as choosing to look at or paint the urban areas, but a way of viewing and feeling; on the other hand, some researchers in 1900s sought to exclude the presence of those who lived and worked in the countryside. In this case, the inclusion of the inhabitants of Drenthe and their daily main activities is also explained. How Landscapes are experienced by Visitors Landscapes comprises of the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landforms, living elements of flora and fauna, abstract elements such as lighting and weather conditions, and human elements, for instance human activity or the built environment. On a scholarly note, Forman and Godron (1986) defines landscape as a heterogeneous land area composed of interacting ecosystems that repeat in similar form throughout. For instance, the Amazon jungle has the same repeated ecosystem, therefore having its own unique and recognized landscape. This definition draws attention to the arrangement of landscape components (pattern or structure) as well as their interactive nature (function or process). Forman and Gordon (1986) continue to point that these elements of landscapes are arbitrary and determined by the observer based on his/her objectives. For instance, a patch can be delineated on the basis of land cover, such as vegetation, water, or urban development, or by using other criteria such as microclimate. A patch can be a red pine stand, a city, a lake, an area of similar air temperature, a particular soil type, a continent, an aggregated group of herbaceous vegetation, etcetera. Pearce (1996) stated that transformation of tourism can be regarded as one of the characteristics of tourism in spatial phenomenon. The transformation influences the physical and representational base of tourist destination in tourism authenticity and identity. As a place of landscape and outdoor recreation, tourist destination stands for a historical and cultural meaning and is suggested to be understood through temporal and cultural context. Landscapes and outdoor recreation, as one of the tourism industry behaviors, has to focus on not only on the sight views, but the consumers as well, which are termed as landscape tourists. (Pearce, 1996: 76) Pearce (1982, Fennel, 2003: 34) states that there is the need to exist a stronger emphasis in linking roles and motivations with social and environmental preferences of tourists, (and in this case, outdoor or adventure tourists) in order for destinations to match better with markets, travel expectations and accommodation. For example, more adventurous tourists will choose either camping sites or places with extensive or vigorous activities like hunting. For the reason that Landscapes concentrate on conservative and sustainable
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development, tourists with different attitudes towards landscapes are traveling in psychological sense, which is distinctive to other types of travelers. To have a better understanding of the motivation towards landscape tourists, there is a ladder adaptation based on Maslow’s hierarchy, which is presented in the Figure. 2.1 Fulfillment Fulfill a dream Understand myself more Experience inner space and harmony
Self-esteem and development Self-directed: development of skills, special interests, competence, mastery Other-directed: external rewards, prestige, glamour of traveling, connoisseur, self-esteem
Relationship Self-directed: giving love, affection, maintaining, relationships. Other-directed: receiving affection, to be with a group, membership, initiating a relationship
Stimulation Self-directed: a concern for own safety Other-directed: a concern for others’ safety
Relaxation Self-directed: need for bodily reconstruction, relaxation Other-directed
Figure 2.1 The Travel career ladder. Source: Ryan (1998) There can be found five levels of motivation in the system. The travel career ladder focuses tourists’ patterns or motivations, but not concentrates on certain motive for traveling. From the bottom level to the top level, there are a concern with biological needs, safety and security needs, relationship development and extension needs, special interest and self-development needs, and fulfillment of deep involvement needs. These five motivational levels are listed respectively, which support the evidence that most tourists belong to accomplishing high-level needs. And they search for ‘peak experience’ when landscape tourism occurs. Therefore, the experiences could well lead to dream fulfillment or inner peace and harmony. (Swarsbrooke et al 2003). Understanding outdoor recreation Simply defined, recreation refers to experiences and activities chosen and pursued by the individual in his/her free time; the basis being that the experience sought and activities pursued, in the real sense of the word, 're-creates' the individual so that he/she may be refreshed to enable him/her to resume daily obligations (John, 1986)
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According to Kraus, (1966), recreation consists of an activity or experience, usually chosen voluntarily by the participant, either because of the immediate satisfaction to be derived from it, or because he perceives some personal or social values to be achieved by it. It is carried on in leisure time, and has no work connotations, usually enjoyable and when it is carried on as part of organized or community services; it is designed to meet constructive and socially worthwhile goals of the individual participant, the group and society at large. Recreation consist of indoor and outdoor as well, while outdoor recreational is opportunities and activities related with everything for instance birding, boating, biking and trail riding (http://dnr.state.il.us/outdoor/index.htm) Outdoor recreation can be defined as just being outdoors for fun. However, the Henry center for recreation in England has broadly defined outdoor recreation as consisting of creative activities, health activities and informal game plays. Others that have been included are like: high adrenalin, non-competitive activities e.g. mountaineering, commercially runs activities, study of the natural environment, educational activities and programs, research and excavations, conservation volunteering, and sustainable journeys to outdoor recreation. Related with outdoor recreation, the rural areas have long been seen and used as appropriate locations for recreation and tourism activities. Recreation and tourism in many rural areas have gone from being primarily passive and minor elements in the landscape to become highly active and dominant agents of change and control of that landscape and of associated communities (Butler, at al, 1998). More so, recreation may be seen as a pursuit of an experience and may therefore have some elements which make up the satisfaction of the experience. This satisfaction may be in terms of emotional, physical or even psychological. Elements that make up the recreational experience have been simplified as seen in the Figure 2.2 The recreational experience
The social context
The Environmental context
The Recreational experience
Rewards derived from experience
Figure 2.2 Principle elements in recreational experience (Williams, 1995) To explain the above diagram, recreational experience may be that activity that is being done e.g., walking in the garden. The environmental context maybe the setting of the area the person has chosen to be. For example, someone may choose to read a novel behind a scenic lake etc. The benefit of outdoor recreation from planner perspective comprises economic, environmental, health, and social benefit.
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Trends in outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation, like many other leisure activities have had different trends overtime. This maybe is a result of changing preference of the consumers and the change in time, space and resources. Many consumers are opting for healthier lifestyles, or a more ethical way of having leisure. Swarsbrooke et al (2003) has listed many trends attributed to adventure tourism, and in this, outdoor recreation. One of the main trends Swarsbrooke (2003) states is the current concern and the sensitive to green issues. This maybe be such as responsible tourism that is merrily for holidaying while also taking care of the environment. On the other hand, the writer explains that health issues have become a catalyst of trends for recreation. For example, consumers will tend to move away from the heavy and hectic way of life in the urban areas, in search for a clean and fresh countryside for relaxation of mind. However, there are various outdoor recreational trends that have been recognized over the years. In the United States, for example, Cordell (2005) has stated that most rapidly increasing numbers of participants are in walking, sightseeing, swimming, picnicking and boating. He also notes that, activities that used to be much enjoyed in earlier years like hiking and camping are still growing at a moderate rate, while consumptive activities such as hunting are declining. It is also good to note that due to technological advancements, motorized outdoor activities such as snowmobiling or jet skiing are activities that are increasing most in popularity (Cordell, 2005). Statistically, the rates with which some European countries engage in outdoor recreation also depend on the environmental surrounding. For example, countries like the Scandinavian countries tend to engage in hiking or mountaineering or even skiing due to the fact that the country’s ecosystem is hilly. This is shown in the figures below of the participation rate in some recreational activities in six European countries, between years 1990 to 2000 as comporison study.
Table. 2.1 Participation rates in some recreation activities in six European countries, Canada and the United States in the 1990s and 2000s. Recreation activity Participation rate in % Denmark Finland Holland Italy Norway Canada U.S.A. a) b) c) d) e) f) g)
Walking Hiking Bicycling Jogging, running Camping Picnicking Hunting Picking berries and other ‘forest fruits’ Picking wild
63 14 10 1 2
68 19 55 16 18 28 8 57
74 68 16 -
40 38 6 4 2 45 4
84 82 47 9 35
19 26 5 11
67 24 29 26 14 49 7 -
3
41
-
21
13
-
-
6
mushrooms Cross-country 1 2 6 3 horseback riding Studying and enjoying 56 51 21 nature Cross-country skiing 40 2 Sources: Bell and Lisa (2007)
4
2
5
-
31
-
50
4
3
From the table above, it is evident that most Holland tourists enjoy walking as an outdoor recreation activity more that any other. Other notable activities that can be seen are, bicycling, jogging and horse riding. However, Cordell (2003) notes that many of the recreational trends that are emerging in USA (mentioned previously) are likely to develop in Europe and hence in Holland as one of the European country. As seen from the information and the comparison data of Europe and USA above, most outdoor recreational activities are on the rise. To sum it up, The notable ones are; Walking: According to the table above it is notable that a good 74 % of participation rate of Tourists and Dutch people engage in walking. A report also by the UK Liason leisure group (2002) noted that 77% of UK adults, or about 38 million people, said they walk for pleasure at least once a month. This therefore is evident that walking has become and will continue to be the most popular trend of outdoor recreational activity. Bicycling: Despite being in the category of walking, hiking is more straneous as participants or tourists want to have a more active recreational time. Hiking for some countries has become more popular and as per the table also, Bicycling showed a huge participation rate in Holland, that of 64%. Hiking: In Holland, more and more people are taking day trips perhaps due to the fact that the coutry is not very large and can be accessed in all corners easily. Hiking has then become more popular and as one survey stated Sports and sportive kinds of recreation, as hiking and cycling, are the most popular daytrips in the Netherlands. According to De Vries (2005) of The “Continue Vakantie Onderzoek” states that about 60 million are hiking trips and almost 50 million cycling trips. After this category going out is the biggest city. Hiking is the most popular holiday activity, followed by going out for dinner and going for a ride. Next to hiking swimming and cycling are undertaken the most as sportive activities. Table 2.2 Day-trips in the Netherlands according to the day-trip environment, 2001-2002 City, Agricultural Dunes, Forests, Lakes, other Total village area beach, moors rivers seaside % 1,000 Day22 5 8 46 13 6 4,743 camping etc. Going for 17 9 13 51 6 4 55,531 a hike
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Biking Horse riding Running, fitness Going for a ride
17 18
29 30
8 2
38 32
10 1
4 10
47,830 3,519
24
10
18
51
3
7
3,782
30
28
6
46
8
6
19,036
Sources: Cordell (2004) As a part from the three main recreational activityi listed above that are becoming popular, others like: Day camping, Horse riding, Running, Going for a ride will continue to become popular in the Netherlands. It is also evident from the tables above that nature will determine largely many types of emerging trends in outdoor recreation. For example: fruit picking, like berries, mushroom picking, nature studying as a recreational activity and cross country skiing are some of the emerging traditional outdoor recreational activities according to Cordell (2004). As many tourists therefore undertake the above rising trends of outdoor recreation, there are also some positive and negative impacts that may come along with development of those activities or even engaging in them. Table 2.3 Economic Impacts of Leisure Activities Positive negative 1. Injection of money to the local community 2. Direct and indirect job creation e.g. the employment of workers at an adventure site. 3. generation of income tax, which comes from entrepreneurs and other tourist enterprises 4. Offers development of small and medium sized enterprises and family business
1. Seasonality of demand leading to under use of the developed infrastructure, e.g. use of bike routes in winter or wet seasons is less. 2. Opportunity costs with money invested for leisure facilities not being utilized for other purposes like health education 3. Over dependent of the type of tourism associated with recreational activity especially in developing countries.
(From: Swarsbrooke 2003) Swarsbrooke continues to mention other impacts of adventure tourism, and for our case, outdoor recreation. As seen below are the environmental and social impacts:
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1.
2. 3.
4. 5.
Table 2.4 Environmental and social impacts of tourism Environmental Impacts Social impacts Development of infrastructure 1. Tourist may behave in a way the may cause problems e.g. hosts may find offensive e.g. development of bike routes may littering of a place where people cause felling off trees and other are used to dustbins or loud notable natural features. hooting of cars. leaving of waste causing air 2. Tourists may introduce bad pollution habits to the hosts eg drug Some activities of outdoor trafficking recreation cause damage to the 3. Tourist may be seen as role flora and fauna e.g. walking on models by host people especially a park may destroy some if they come from a developed indigenous plants country. Disruption of feeding and 4. On the other hand, it may cause breeding patterns if over visited an inferiority complex or feeling Driving within the recreational to the host communitye e.g. the place may damage the feeling that the hosts are poor or ecosystem underdeveloped 5. It may also increase the crime of the host community as they may be influenced to steal from the tourists (Adapted from Swarsbrooke 2003)
Opportunities of Outdoor Recreation Opportunities of outdoor recreation may first be determined by the concerned parties in a state before being implemented. Williams (1995) states that the organization of and actions of local authorities to develop outdoor recreation are very variable and this may be partly attributed to lack of a policy direction. On the other hand, the private sector has a more driven ability to create excellent leisure opportunities since the sector is a market driven one. The terms they invest in are characterized by the returns the sector gets and the returns are financially measured. Private sectors for recreational purposes are characterized by such amenities like pools tables, snooker houses, bowling centers, among others. The voluntary sector falls between the private and the public sector. This Williams notes that it is normally dominated by community based clubs and groups that focus on a particular activity e.g. drama, theatre, gardening or football club. Therefore, for a proper opportunity of recreation provision, all the sectors must collaborate so that such opportunities of leisure and recreation can be equal and be of standard. Summary of the literature As seen from the literature, landscapes tend to vary from one another depending on locations. The types of landscapes also influences the types of leisure activities that are going to happen or be carried put in a particular destination. On the other hand, outdoor recreation also depends highly on the typology of landscapes. A hilly place will tend to have people visiting it for the purposes of climbing. A snowy place will have people going for skating and a
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beautiful landscape will have people going for walks or picnics. More over as seen in the review, there are benefits of outdoor recreation that range from: a healthy mind to a chance of investment for the local community. More to that, it has been seen that various outdoor recreational trends have begun to rise and some have stagnated. For example, Hiking, biking, riding horses, camping, walking will still be the main outdoor recreational activities experienced by visitors in years to come.
METHODOLOGY Research Questions The project was aimed at knowing how the outdoor recreation could contribute to the development of attractive cultural and natural landscapes in the province of Drenthe, and villages in Bali as well. Collecting Data According to Trochim, (2006), direct observation is collecting data include everything from field research where one lives in another context or culture for a period of time to photographs that illustrate some aspect of the phenomenon. The data can be recorded in many of the same ways as interviews (stenography, audio, and video) and through pictures, photos or drawings (e.g., those courtroom drawings of witnesses are a form of direct observation). In this case, the data was collected in relation to the resources present at the landscapes in Gieten-Drenthe, and four villages in Bali with landscape’s Bali as an outdoor recreation form as cases studies. First, the group made an observation list describing what kind of landscape recourses present in Gieten-Drenthe, and Bali and the quality of those as well. Then, the group bought a map and geographic book about Gieten, read and figured out the resources and the position on the map. The next step was making an itinerary and field trip. Finally the group went to Gieten and Bali made observations, took photos, and communicated with locals around the area. At the same time all the group members made notes on the observation list and then we discussed about what we observed. After that, a final detailed observation list including opinions from all group members was made.
FINDING LANSCAPE IN DRENTHE5 1). Natural landscape: a) Forestry: there are so many trees along the road and surrounding the house in Drenthe. It is useful for walking, biking, jogging and sightseeing. b) Garden view: the garden view in Drenthe is so beautiful. Houses are so nice and diversified here. Besides, the gardens are full of flowers of different kinds which make other people feel so delight while visiting. It 5
Rai Utama, I Gusti Bagus., Cecily., Phuong., Susan., and Mayur. 2007. Landscape and Leisure, Outdoor Recreation in Gieten-Drenthe. International Research Project, Master in International Leisure and Tourism Studies, CHN Leeuwarden-MA in International Leisure and Tourism Studies, The Netherlands.
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c)
d) e) f) g) h)
is so attractive as if visitors are walking in a very big park not a village anymore. Farms: there are some small farms in Drenthe located within the village turn this place to become a truly countryside with small farms and small forests interpose together. Small lakes and canals: there are some small lakes and canals where people can go fishing, boating or even swimming if possible. Meadow: there are several meadows where people can play food ball, camping, barbecue and do some other out door recreation activities. Temperate climate: good weather , especially in Spring and summer time. Zoo in Emmen (Drenthe, 11) Etcetera
2). Cultural landscape: a) Friendly people: visitors can meet friendly and helpful people everywhere in Drenthe. b) Motorbike races at TT circuit in Assen (Drenthe, 11) c) Cultural festivals: SIVO festival which is taken place in 31th week every year when dancers from over the world come to outdoor (a village of Drenthe) to perform. d) Traditional farm houses: there are so many Dutch traditional farm houses here which are still in a very good condition. e) Old church, sculptor garden, museum, etc. 3). How are the landscapes experienced by tourists in Drenthe? In most tourists’ mind, Drenthe is an agricultural province. Besides, this place is a very fresh and peaceful place. Tourists come here for out door recreation. Except from that, this place is also a good place for cultural activities because it has many historical sites, old traditional farm houses, and many other cultural festivals. In conclusion, Drenthe has the potential for sightseeing tour, camping and cultural tourism. Furthermore, it is also a very good place to conduct some sport activities and convalescence. In the near future, it is suggested that the tourism department and local government in Drenthe should organize more cultural activities and sport events for the locals as well as tourists. Besides, holiday resort should be built to serve for stressful tourists who are looking for fresh, quiet and beautiful place to refresh. Some of the Attraction and activities that the tourists can experience are: Flora and fauna, planting, fishing, forestry, and fabrication. More over amenities that can also be found which are essential for tourists are:: Hotel/Villa, Restaurant/Food Services, Shops, and Supermarket ready to serve the visitors in Gieten. However such amenities and attractions have their own strengths and weaknesses. As the researchers found out, they are: Strengths: 1. Cheap prices, easy for a consumer to afford. 2. Supermarket is located inside the village, the convenient for visitors because they don’t have to carry so much stuff when they are traveling. 3. Home stay or bed and breakfast in ancient typical Dutch 4. House so that visitor can enjoy the authentic Dutch lifestyle.
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5. Bike hiring is available so it’s easy for visitors to travel around so the visitors don’t have to bring their own bikes on cars. Weaknesses 1. Small size restaurants and cafes, good for small place like Gieten but if you have more guests or visitors difficult to accommodate. 2. Service delivery is not professional. 3. The service is not diversified and in the future, they must have more tourism products such as skate boarding, souvenirs and boat renting; tourism activities Institution Travel bureaus and banks are important institution for the visitors. As is the case Gieten has been promoted by some travel bureaus as an interesting tourist site in Drenthe (www.vacations-abroad.com). As for bureaus situated in Gieten, there is no information centre for tourists, only one travel bureau which is not enough for tourist information needs. Environment Nature landscapes such as forest, lake, rivers, and park can be found nearby village of Gieten. The housing and environment naturally surrounding of the village are potential as outdoor recreation spot. Agriculture is the traditional job of the local and in urban tourist eyes it very attractive to them and it offers them a chance to study about agriculture and practice with the farmers. After that they get an interesting experience since they enjoy being a farmer as this always different from their routine jobs.
Form of Outdoor recreations in Gieten-Drenthe 1. Garden Viewing Many kinds of varieties of flowers can be found in Gieten, and outdoor recreation such as sightseeing around the village is possible and prospective to package as a product of recreation package. While Gieten’s village can be reached easily, the local community also accepts the presence of visitors. 2. Fishing Lakes and rivers in Gieten can be packaged as outdoor recreation for fishing and other activities as well. As typical of other places in Holland, the rivers and lakes in Gieten are an attraction to visitors. 3. Biking While Gieten is a small city also as a village, it is not too large and biking can be as alternative to reach outdoor recreation spots in Gieten. Bike rentals can be found easily in Gieten. Visitors can spend time by biking as outdoor recreation. 4. Walking Some parts of village of Gieten also can be reached easily by walking because the village is relatively small. The beautiful landscape, artistic housing, beauty gardens, and other panorama become attraction outdoor recreation in Gieten. Trends in outdoor recreation in Gieten as the group witnessed was people
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who want to have a nice and relaxing time. The place is a small town with not many people living there and the visitors who visit the place want the place to be noise free and that is what they get. Most of the visitors are from big cities that are tired of their busy lives and want some time out from work as well as the noise and the crowd they see in big cities. Visitors who come and visit Gieten are not disappointed as the place is quite peaceful and naturally beautiful for people to enjoy and have a nice time. The weaknesses of outdoor recreation in Gieten, Drenthe Lack of Information: About the village/city, especially for holiday during holiday the visitors have lots leisure time while English information about the village can not be gotten easily. For Dutch visitors it is easy to get information via the ANWB and VVV offices, but for foreign visitors, it is very difficult to find any information. The opportunities of outdoor recreation in Gieten-Drenthe According to Bell and Lisa (2007) as well as Cordell (2004), certain activities have become popular and are being preferred by tourists whether local or foreign. Such recreational activities are like: Camping, horse riding, walking and running, biking, Hiking, in the aadditionally. It is also evident from the research explained in the review above that nature will determine largely many types of emerging trends in outdoor recreation. For example, Fruit picking, like berries and mushroom picking, nature studying as a recreational activity and cross country skiing are some of the emerging traditional outdoor recreational activities according to Cordell (2004). Gieten is an attractive location, small village with not much people around, place has ample opportunity for biking and tourists have enough time to ride bicycles. Biking saves lots of time for tourists and they have the opportunity to view places quickly than they can do by walking. Biking being one of the favorite sports activities of the Dutch people healthy and gives the locals a chance to earn some extra money as they rent bikes there. Holland is famous for its gardens and flowers, well Gieten also has lots of gardens but small in size though beautiful, the place has the ability to attract more tourists because of its beautiful nature. As stated in the literature, Fishing is an ever rising outdoor recreational activity (Cordell 2004,2005). Therefore in Gieten garden fishing is also an attractive activity for the tourist and the place has lots of opportunity for it, they can develop the area more for attracting more tourists, as the Dutch local tourists like to do fishing a lot. In Holland, more and more people are taking day trips perhaps due to the fact that the country is not very large and can be accessed in all corners easily. Though the place is small and at quite far end of Holland it is still quite easily accessible but tourists would still people prefer hiking instead of biking as they enjoy the adventure of hiking. All these combined can really become an opportunity for outdoor recreation for tourists.
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In general, the researchers made of the area as part of the analysis of some strengths of Gieten; Such Strengths are: 1. Attractiveness The attractiveness of Gieten is an opportunity and a comparative strength with others destination. The uniqueness of Gieten can be seen from the nature, culture, and environment of Gieten’s community that’s all become opportunities to develop outdoor recreation more professionally. 2. Relative nearby attractions in others places in Drenthe. Gieten nearby destinations such as Groningen and Assen are already popular in Holland as a city while at the moment preferences of modern people more likely enjoy the natural attraction and landscapes as outdoor recreation activities. The threats of outdoor recreation in Gieten, Drenthe Land uses problems: Many landscapes are changing due to the housing developments and new house projects, hotels, camping places and play yards being developed in Gieten. Pollution: Facilities to support the emerging attractions can also prove to be a threat to outdoor recreation. As people need a clean place with good environment, tourists visit gieten due to its good condition. However, when there is so many tourists coming to this place, it may cause environmental pollution. Example: Air pollution through the car traffic and cooking from the hotels. Water pollution: When people do the fishing boating damage the waters and canals in Gieten Land pollution: Garbage will be disposed as a result of many outdoor tourists visiting the place. How can the outdoor recreations mentioned above contribute to development of attractive cultural and Natural landscapes in Gieten. As mentioned in the literature review walking is a preferred activity of the Dutch people, (bell and Lisa 2007). Walking makes the view easier as it is a small town and by walking tourists can easily see everything without missing much of the tourist sites in Gieten. The place is visited by people who want to have a chilling time from their busy lives and Gieten has lots of opportunities for people to chill and relax as it is a quiet town with small cafes and restaurants where people can easily sit n n relax. Such recreations are not yet well exposed for a diversified tourism purposes as such. If such recreational resources are diversified according to the listed emerging trends, Gietens could have very attractive cultural and natural landscapes. For example, taking some of the recreational activities suitable for the place, the report will examine some current recreational opportunities and those that could be developed. Current Activities can be made (2007) Garden Views: opportunities to package the parks in Gieten as attractions by sightseeing tour trips and places to offer cultural drama festivals and dances. 1) Fishing: opportunities to package the outdoor recreation for fishing and other activities. 2) Biking: That can be used to offer annual biking races.
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3) Visiting Farmers: These farmers can contribute also to offering visitors with innovated cultural farmer’s festivals. This can be like the cheese shows in Alkmaar. 4) Walking: the beauty landscape, artistic housing, beauty gardens, and other panorama become attraction outdoor recreation in Gieten. 5) Camping: tourist can camp at the grass land and enjoy the weather and beautiful landscape here. To be developed (according to Cordell 2005) 1. Boating: it is so interesting for tourists to row a kayak in the lakes or the canals here. Boat races can be implemented to be frequent all round the year apart from winter seasons 2. Visiting traditional houses: old traditional houses like a lively museum to remind the young people about the previous generation life and culture. 3. Leisure lifestyle: for people who are so stressful with city life can come here just to enjoy fresh air and leisure countryside lifestyle. 4. Fruit picking e.g. berry picking and mushroom picking. As such therefore, Gieten has the potential to develop cultural and natural attractive landscape as it has been clearly seen that most of its strength to comes from the fact that it has various important natural and cultural resources.
Comparative study with Landscapes’s Bali The case study is used, and this research will be focused in Bali Province since it is presently used as the icon of tourism in Indonesia 6. The villages are collected as case studies of landscapes in Bali, they are: Bayung Gede Village, Kintamani District in Bangli Regency, Candikuning Village, Baturiti District in Tabanan Regency, Blimbingsari Village, Melaya District in Jembrana Regency, and Pelaga Village, Petang District in Badung Regency. This research uses qualitative approach which involves some library researches and observation. Qualitative method according to Veal (1997), refers to the methods and techniques which describe and emphasize more on qualitative rather that quantitative information. This research is designed using qualitative descriptive research methods. 1. Bayung Gede Village, Kintamani District-Bangli Regency Bayung Gede is the first village surveyed to collect information relate to rural with landscape as outdoor recreation form. It is a rural tourism projected by Government of Bali Regency located nearby the eco-tourism Kintamani which famous for beautiful sceneries of Batur Lake and active volcano Mount Batur. The main tourist attraction offered at Bayung Gede Village is “Kuburan Ari-ari” (placenta grave). The local communities of Bayung Gede Village believe it as spiritual of inhabitants of familiarity. The district government of Bangli sees the potency and develop it become tourism object which added with some creations and innovations to enrich alternative tourist attractions in Bali. In addition, Bayung Gede Village also has other potencies such as orange farms and the 6
Rai Utama, I Gusti Bagus. 2007. Agrotourism as an Alternative form tourism in Bali. CHN Leeuwarden-MA in International Leisure and Tourism Studies, The Netherlands, Thesis.
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beautiful panorama that developed as agrotourism. Besides, lush vegetables grow in this village. Oranges and vegetables are currently produced to supply local markets in Bali Province. Tourists who visit Bayung Gede Village are dominantly still attracted by the unique of “Kuburan Ari-ari” although the village has lots potencies on agricultural resources as an outdoor recreation form. The activities’s outdoor recreation can be packed for harvesting, planting, walking, hiking, bicycling, jogging, running, picnicking, studying and enjoying nature, culutural activities, etc. 2. Candikuning Village, Baturiti District-Tabanan Regency Candikuning Village is a project which was initiated by the district government of Baturiti, Tabanan Regency. Following the success story of Bedugul “Beratan Lake” and “Ulun Danu Temple” and the botanical garden of Kebun Raya Bali the village is surveyed and promoted as agrotourism in Bali. The Botanical Garden is one of the leading tourist attractions in Tabanan Regency contributes lots to the local communities and stimulates related businesses such as flower “krisan” shops, vegetable traditional market, fruit “strawberry”, and organic plantations as an outdoor recreation form. The activities’s outdoor recreation can be packed for harvesting, planting, walking, hiking, bicycling, jogging, running, picnicking, studying and enjoying nature, biodiversity and botanical research, etc. 3. Blimbingsari Village, Melaya District, Jembrana Regency Blimbingsari is a small village of approximately 200 couple families, located in western part of Bali Province approximately 120 km from the Capital City of Denpasar. The village was formed and developed once the Dutch colonized Indonesia. It is predominantly populated by Christian Protestant communities. Albeit it becomes a Christian village, Blimbingsari still exists in Balinese culture and tradition practices. Predominantly, the populations work for agricultural sector. The cacao and coconut farms are the main products of Blimbingsari Village. The opportunity of Blimbingsari to become an agricultural attraction was motivated by “Suyaga Ayub”, a pastor of Blimbingsari church. Dominantly, tourists attracted by the unique traditions of Christian communities which are implemented by Balinese-style church, and its story becomes one of the Christian villages in Bali. The village is also nearby Palasari Village with Catholics populations, moreover it is both close to West Bali National Park which functions as ecotourism and conservation and Palasari water irrigation (DAM) as an outdoor recreation form which have been developed and promoted by the local government as tourist destination in Bali. At the moment, that village is promoting as the rural tourism “desa wisata”. The activities’s outdoor recreation can be packed for harvesting, planting, walking, hiking, bicycling, jogging, running, picnicking, studying and enjoying nature, culutural activities, fishing, etc. 4. Pelaga Village, Petang District, Badung Regency Pelaga is a small town in the middle part of Bali. It is surrounded by mountains and forests. This place is popoler with the landscape for agricultural activities especialy as agrotourism. The agrotourism at Pelaga is motivated by private entrepreneurs for the purpose of becoming motivators of farmers in
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Pelaga Village (Astawa, 2007). Agro Bagus Pelaga is one of the agrotourism objects developed by a Balinese entrepreneur named Sudibya. The main goal is to supply organic agricultural products like vegetables and fruits such as strawberry and tomato for hotel industries in Bali. Currently, the tourists are attracted by beautiful panorama of mountain, rice fields, and organic farms as the main attractions as an outdoor recreation form. The activities’s outdoor recreation can be packed for harvesting, planting, walking, hiking, bicycling, jogging, running, picnicking, studying and enjoying nature, etc.
CONCLUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The strengths of landscapes in Bali predominantly are resourced by ecological, social, and cultural resources. The surveyed strength factors used as indicators consist of lakes, rice fields, plantations, forests, rivers, existing farmers, unique traditions, agricultural organizations, events, agricultural ceremonies, organization linkages, human resources, agricultural regulations, information systems, and heritages. More specifically, the stakeholders strongly agree that ecological resource particularly lakes, and social and cultural resources especially existing of farmers and unique traditions as the most strengths factors as means. There is similar situation on landscapes, both of provinces Drenthe and Bali. In most tourists’ mind, Drenthe is an agricultural province and also Bali. Besides, these places are a very fresh and peaceful place. Tourists come there for outdoor recreation. Except from that, thatese places is also a good places for cultural activities because it has many historical sites, old traditional farm houses, and many other cultural festivals. In conclusion, Drenthe and Bali have the potential for sightseeing tour, camping and cultural tourism. Both of them, landsacape as outdoor recreation form should be seen as product that will be packaged to visitors or tourists. According to Martin Service businesses have to have a unique characteristic that should be explored and understood when developing a marketing plan and competitive strategy. The four key characteristics of service businesses are: Intangibility, Inseparability, Perishability, and Variability can be aplied both Drenthe and Bali. 1) Intangibility, most services cannot be experienced or consumed until the purchase is made. Customers can easily end up feeling like they have to make a purchasing decision without satisfactory information. Outdoor Recreation product in Gieten and Bali as intangible products, they sale view of garden, fishing, farmers agricultural activities, that can be consumed in imagine and experience. In other to satisfy tourists’ needs, there must be more maps and brochures at travel agents and the recommendation of the employees to make in invisible thing become visible. 2) Inseparability, services are unique because they are usually provided and consumed at the same time in the same location (e.g. view of garden or guiding service). Because of the characteristic of inseparability, visitors of Gieten and Bali have strong expectations about how a service will be provided, which can lead to disappointment if their expectations are not met. Therefore, it is better to upgrade the locals and tourism employees of serving customers. Besides, there should be professional organization of tourism in this region. Lateral, there should be more activities and services to reach the diversified needs of tourists. 17
3) Perishability: services, on the other hand, are often perishable, meaning that unused capacity cannot be stored for future use or sale. In this case, visiting of Gieten and Bali might be full in the week end and half empty the others days. Hence, a good marketing strategy is needed to reduce the seasonality in this place and attract more visitors. As a result, it will bring more profit for the locals. 4) Variability, the quality of a service can vary by many factors, including who provides it, where it is provided, when it is provided, and how it is provided. To due with this issue, the tourism biro here should conduct the survey in order to best understand the tourists needs then have good strategy to attract and serve them. In the similiar statements, Kasper (1999) describe service whose buying doesn’t necessarily result in the ownership by meant of physical transfer of the object but still creates benefits during or after a particular interaction and experience. The experience that customer got at the Outdoor recreation in Gieten, and Bali is: Firstly, these City/Villages are a nice place for family recreation. Secondly, those City/Villages provide amenity and infrastructure for outdoor recreation already. They combine the elements of natural beauty, landscape scarcity, and diversity of attractions maybe as caracteristics of both of cases studies. Furthermore, to develop the Gieten, and also Bali as popular landscape for tourism or outdoor recreation place should be better known some factors related with development ethic of tourism such as: 1) Scarcity: what is the scarcity of Gieten and Bali, in this case the natural landscape and natural activities such as biking, fishing, walking, and etcetera? 2) What the uniqueness’ factor of Gieten, and Bali as recreation places? In the case the rural culture and agriculture should be promoted well. 3) Community empowerment, in this case the small ownership of business should be better from the local community such as hotels, restaurant, and etcetera. And then, marketing techniques to be needed in both Gieten and Bali as an important factor to create market attract new visitors and maintain regular visitors. O’Sullivan and Spangler (1998), in the book, explain about four new p’s as a new dimension the old four p’s. In this business, we can find the four element of the new p’s, as describe as follow: 1) Parameters of the experience: Tourism and leisure activities especially outdoor recreation in rural areas become paradigm modern society. Refreshing mind and do relaxation from the routine activities becomes a need. There is an increasing steadily with the quantity of the people who saving money to travel around countries for having fun. As a custom, people before decided which place they want to go or what kind of activities they wanted to do, they will prepare for that. In the process of preparation, usually they will search it in the internet, asking for the travel agent and ask their relative for the suggestion. This stage really important in attract the target market. Where, in this stage people would be very exciting to find a new experience. It’s very crucial to give enough information for the target market. 2) People: The market segmentation is a crucial part in marketing. Every people have a different need, and it’s affect by many factors. According to Sullivan a need of a person affect by four big factors, there are: core, culture, change and choice. Where those factor support the action of a person to decide which
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part need to take participation. Gieten Village put their attention form the people who has a desire to get a natural experience, and other experience. Their segmentation is student from agriculture and tourism department, employee’s researcher, family and others. 3) Peripherals: Choosing a location for a tourism destination is not as simple as its look like. The location should be supported for the business activities in many aspects. Especially in tourism business, location has a great influence for the business growth. Tourism business provides a service for the people looking for refreshing, out of the routine activities. Gieten and Bali have criteria as a location to build the destination. Gieten is located nearby popular cities. Some costumers do everything to spent time for refreshing. The combination of beautiful view of the natural garden, lake view and panorama and landscapes, become unforgettable holiday memory in Gieten, and Bali as well. This unforgettable memory wasn’t enough to keep only in mind because the experience can’t be share perfectly with other people. 4) PerInfoCom: For popularity as a unique landscape especially by outdoor recreation, Gieten, and Bali should receive some suggestions or recommendations to establish their qualities and of course as an added value for their good brand image. All of factors are Televisions, websites, book event, and brochure. It would make a special thought in people mind about Gieten, and Bali as well.
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