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Waves of Gold an Analysis of the Practice of Surf Tourism on the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

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Waves of Gold an Analysis of the Practice of Surf Tourism on the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia WAVES OF GOLD AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICE OF SURF TOURISM ON THE MENTAWAI ISLANDS, INDONESIA ROBIN RANDOLPH DOMINIQUE SCHWIDDER 910508-756-040 XXV-VIII-MMXVI MSC THESIS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY GROUP SUPERVISOR: DR. M.A.J. LAMERS SECOND READER: PROF. DR. IR. G. SPAARGAREN ABSTRACT In recent decades, surf tourism has been booming with millions of surfers travelling abroad worldwide. However, as increasing numbers of surfers travel to the most remote places on earth, surfers too often generate a negative impact. This is also the case on The Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, until recently characterized as an unspoilt wonderland. Nowadays, things are starting to change as the surf tourism industry is increasingly expanding, reaching a tipping point, either for the good or the bad. This tipping point and the current situation on the Mentawai Islands is researched through a three step approach with the social practice theory as an overarching lens. First, an analysis is made of the social practice of surfing; second, a historical analysis of the practice of surfing and how it has changed throughout time is made; third, an in-depth discussion of the practice arrangement bundle of surf tourism on the Mentawai Islands is made through ethnographic fieldwork. The most important finding is that the practice of surfing is considered rather sustainable, however, as it evolved towards surf tourism unsustainable linkages are established with the tourism industry that is dominated by foreign owned resorts and charter boat vessels. These are often environmentally unfriendly and linkages with host destinations remain low. Moreover, due to the rise of amenities tourism numbers are increasing and overcrowding is becoming a serious issue. Hence, good governance is needed that manages and controls the linkages that the practice arrangement bundle of surf tourism makes in order for the surf tourism industry to remain sustainable in the future. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Structure & Relevance of the Thesis............................................................................... 5 2. Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Social Practice Theory ...................................................................................................... 7 2.2 History, Change & The Linkages of Practices .............................................................. 9 2.3 Sustainable Tourism Practices & Co-Management .................................................... 11 2.4 A Recap ............................................................................................................................ 13 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Study Area ....................................................................................................................... 15 3.2 Data Collection ................................................................................................................ 18 3.3 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 23 4. A Historical Analysis of The Practice of Surfing .............................................................. 24 4.1 The Origin of Surfing ..................................................................................................... 24 4.2 Calvinism & Resistance ................................................................................................. 25 4.3 California & The Popularisation of Surfing ................................................................ 27 4.4 The Practice of Surf Tourism ......................................................................................... 30 4.2.1 The Rise & Current Situation ................................................................................. 30 4.2.3 Sustainable Surf Tourism ....................................................................................... 33 4.2.4 The Excesses ............................................................................................................. 34 5. The Practice of Surf Tourism in Indonesia ........................................................................ 37 5.1 The Mentawai Islands .................................................................................................... 40 5.1.1 Surfing the Mentawais: The early days ................................................................ 40 5.1.2 The Current Practice Arrangement Bundle of Surf Tourism ............................ 43 5.1.3 An Orientation Towards The Future ............................................................. 57 6. Discussion & Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 63 6.1 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 63 6.1.1 Theoretical & Social Implications .......................................................................... 63 6.1.2 Limitations & Recommendations For Future Research ..................................... 66 6.2 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 67 7. Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 71 8. Appendix ............................................................................................................................... 82 2 3 1. INTRODUCTION Since the 1960s, due to the rise of financial freedom, enhanced mobility, and globalization in general, there has been an exponential rise of the tourism industry (Harvey 1999; Urry 1990). In search for unspoilt, uncrowded surf breaks especially surfers “like waves, move across and along the ocean” fuelling the surf tourism industry and turning entire coastal areas into surf enclaves (Laderman 2014: 43; Mach 2009). Particularly in developing countries the surf tourism industry is becoming increasingly important as it can have far-reaching impact on undeveloped areas (Baker 2006). For example, the surf tourism industry can bring significant opportunities for economic growth that include economic diversification and employment opportunities for the local population, increasing the standard of living. Furthermore, surf tourism has the potential to create a major cultural and environmental impact by conserving endemic flora and fauna, and traditional cultures (Buckley 2002a). One of the developing countries that is highly influenced by the emerging surf tourism industry is Indonesia. Indonesia is the highest-volume, longest lived, best-known surf tourism destination in the developing world with numerous surf breaks and some of the best surfing opportunities (Buckley 2002a; Ponting et al. 2005). Hence, surfing has now become the single most popular water sport all over Indonesia (Ardianto 2013). Moreover, due to the current addition of surfing to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, surfing and surf tourism have the potential to popularize and grow even further, generating an even bigger impact. However, as increasing numbers of surfers continue to expand their horizon to the most remote places on earth in search for the perfect wave, these surfers too often generate a negative impact on the host environment and local communities. These host destinations, especially islands, can be vulnerable environments that have difficulty coping with issues of overcrowding that lead to the exploitation of resources. This can have huge environmental costs as it causes the destruction of reefs, endangers fish species, and pollutes the water. Concerning the latter, these islands often inhabit rich, endemic flora and fauna that can become endangered. Moreover, the local communities often lack involvement into the surf tourism industry as surf tourism operations and related businesses are quickly monopolized by outside entrepreneurs and in the past mismanagement of the surf tourism industry has led to deleterious impacts on host destinations (Hughes-Dit-Ciles 2009; O’Brien & Ponting 2013). One of the areas that is described as a wonderland for surf tourism are the Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra, Indonesia (Ponting et al. 2005). The Mentawai Islands were, until recently, seen as unspoilt, characterized by dense forests with endemic species and covered with indigenous village communities using traditional social and religious practices. However, the Mentawai archipelago is becoming more and more attractive as a surf destination due to the abundance of high quality and consistent waves, and emerging amenities. Despite this, the local people gain little from the rapidly rising surf industry because the resorts and charter vessels hosting the surf tourists are often owned by outsiders (Towner 2014). In general, there is a lack of incorporation of local communities in the tourist industry, thus, poverty numbers remain high. In addition, until now the rise of surf tourism has been relatively uncontrolled due to a young local government that lacks
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