Sangeh and Kintamani: Lesson to Learn
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Sangeh and Kintamani which have been excluded from the list of tourist destinations by travel agents across Bali are now expecting to see their “blacklisted” status lifted.
Sangeh is home to hundreds monkeys that at one time deemed too wild and dangerous for visitors. They’d snatch your glasses, ransack your bags, undress (yes, as in revealing your upper private areas) an unknowing visitor and even bite you if you aren’t careful enough. All of which are the reason why the travel agents exclude the aptly name “Monkey Forest” from their travel packages.
“It is much cleaner and the monkeys are not as vicious as they once were, maybe because they are now fed more regularly. So, there is no reason to exclude Sangeh from our tour packages,” said I Ketut Ardana, Chairman of Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA).
Meanwhile, Kintamani, where the sacred Mount and Lake Batur are located, has been excluded by travel agents for the behavior of its street peddlers. Their aggressive style of selling the souvenirs are deemed inappropriate, a big no no for visitors who would like more privacy and respect when they’re shopping.
Let it be a lesson for everyone in the tourism business: the tourism board and department, travel agents, local guides and street peddlers, that good service is above all others in the tourism industry. When you take things for granted without the slightest will to give back, bad things tend to happen. A lot, if not all, of tourist destination in Bali contribute a good chunk to the local economy. The least you can do is make the damn place presentable, clean and secure and comfortable. So that the wheel keeps turning for everyone.
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