The Accessibility of People with Disabilities to the Tourism Activities in Batu City
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International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 6, No. 2; February 2018 ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com The Accessibility of People with Disabilities to the Tourism Activities in Batu City Ucca Arawindha1, Titi Fitrianita1 1Sociology Department, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia Correspondence: Ucca Arawindha, Jl. Veteran-Malang, 65145, Indonesia. Received: November 30, 2017 Accepted: January 2, 2018 Available online: January 5, 2018 doi:10.11114/ijsss.v6i2.2827 URL: https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v6i2.2827 Abstract This study aims at identifying the accessibility of people with disabilities to the tourism activities in Batu City. Batu is a city whose tourism industry develops so rapidly that it is called A Tourism City. Despite its multiple artificial and natural tourist sites, Batu City does not provide the accessible infrastructure for people with disabilities. According to the Local Regulation Number 7 Year 2011 about The Urban Planning of Batu City Year 2010-2030, the regulation about the disabled-friendly infrastructure is still minimum. It is only stated in Chapter 10 Section (4) m, explaining that the pedestrian lane is equipped with the walking lane for people with disabilities. However, if we refer to the Local Regulation of East Java Province Number 3 Year 2013 about Security and Service for People with Disabilities, every city/district is obliged to provide the accessible infrastructure for people with disabilities, including the accessible infrastructure in the tourist site. The accessibility is not limited to the walking lane for people with disabilities included in the Local Regulation of Batu City, but it also covers the toilet, parking area, hotel/inn, transportation, and etcetera. Consequently, this study is necessarily carried out due to the fact that the number of people with disabilities in Indonesia is quite many, as many as 37.5 million people (Wirawan, 2015). This study employs the Mix Methods. It is a survey method strengthened by the descriptive qualitative study. The data are obtained by using questionnaire, in-depth interview, observation, and document study. The finding of this study is expected to be able to give an overview about the readiness of Batu City as a Tourism City that is disabled-friendly, thus, it can be used as a basis of fair policy making for all citizens as well as to eradicate the discrimination, particularly in the tourism activities. Keywords: accessibility, tourism, people with disabilities 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduce the Problem Batu is a city in East Java Province, Indonesia whose tourism industry develops rapidly. It is located in 700 – 1700 meters above the sea levels with temperature of 12 – 19 degree Celsius. Enclosed by two big mountains, its topography consists of valleys. The fresh air, beautiful scenery, and high potential of natural tourist sites such as waterfalls, springs, and etc. make Batu one of the leading tourist sites of East Java Province. Data from the Department of Tourism and Culture of Batu City show that the tourist visit to Batu City reached 3.5 million people in 2015 and it escalated to 3.9 million people in 2016. These data excluded the unrecorded tourist sites by the Department of Tourism and Culture, such as the apple picking tour. In 2017, it is targeted that 4.1 million people will visit this city (Agustina, 2017). Along with its attempt to improve the local economy through the idea of comparative advantage by strengthening the tourism industry (Ashley, De Brine, & Wilde, 2017), Batu City begins to develop the nature-based tourist sites to be the artificial-based tourist sites. Jatim Park, Secret Zoo, Batu Night Spectacular (BNS), Paralayang, Predator Fun Park, and etcetera are the artificial tourist sites that confirm Batu City as one of Tourism Cities in Indonesia. The attempt to develop the tourism sector is supported by the Central Government by the establishment of the National Tourism Development Plan Year 2010 – 2025 (RI, 2011). The Central Government even allocates the Special Allocation Funds to develop the local tourist sites. Unfortunately, in the National Tourism Development Plan Year 2010 – 2025 the government does not develop the inclusive tourism. The Special Allocation Funds allocated to improve the accessibility and quality of the tourist sites 47 International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 6, No. 2; 2018 through the facility and infrastructure developments (RI, 2015) does not consider the need of people with disabilities in accessing the tourist sites. They have the right to enjoy the tourist sites despite the fact that their rights are not fulfilled due to the infrastructure and social inhibitors (Bindu and Devi, 2016; Bordeianu, 2012; Popiel, 2016). The policy to protect people with disabilities in Indonesia is under CRPD (Convention of Rights of Person with Disabilities) that is legitimated in November 2011. Regarding to the accessibility, the Law Number 4 Year 2007 about People with Disabilities has its own regulation. In Chapter 1 Article 1 Paragraph 4, it is stated that “the accessibility is an access provided for people with disabilities to create equivalency and opportunity in all aspects of life and living”. In East Java Province, there is the Local Regulation Number 3 Year 2013 about Safety and Service for People with Disabilities. However, this legal protection has not been well implemented. 1.2 Explore Importance of the Problem Although the disability issue is not a new problem in Indonesia, its implementation is still very weak (Irwanto, 2010), including the establishment of the disabled-friendly tourism concept. According to Ahmad (Hartik, 2016), there is no tourist destination in Indonesia that provides special facilities for people with disability. The big number of people with disabilities in Indonesia as many as 37.5 million people (Wirawan, 2015) does not make the government direct its concern to provide spaces that are accessible for them (Putri, 2011; Thohari, 2014). The low accessibility of people with disabilities to the tourist sites also occurs in other cities, such as Yogyakarta (Handoyo, 2017) and Bali (Adiningrat, Abdillah, & Dewantara, 2015). The tour package and city infrastructure do not support people with disabilities to enjoy the tourist sites independently. The low accessibility of people with disabilities to the tourist site leads to the more basic issue. The tourist site is a public space that becomes a place for individuals to interact with each other. The difficult access to the tourist site equals to reducing people with disability’s access to the public space. Whereas, the opportunity to be present in the public space can be an attempt to reduce the negative view of communities to people with disabilities. 1.3 Describe Relevant Scholarship Some studies have been carried out to see to what extent the inclusive tourist is implemented. Sammargaraja & Wee (2013) state that Johor National Park in Malaysia does not provide enough facilities for visitors with disabilities. India also faces the similar problem. In India, the inclusive tourist has not been a significant issue to be taken into account by the government as the stakeholder, communities, and actors involved in the tourism industry (Ministry of Tourism, 2010). For Bordieau (2012), developing the inclusive tourism is not the only attempt to be implemented as the social responsibility, but it also has a good business potential because it can reduce the tendency of the tourism seasonality. People with disabilities will get many benefits if the inclusive tourism is developed. According to Bindu and Devi (2016), people with disabilities are parties who have lack of access because of the low opportunity to access the tourism. When the tourism industry has recognized the need of people with disabilities by providing services and creating special products for them, a new problem will raise. Unfortunately, the offered services and products are more expensive than the ones offered to people with no disabilities (Popiel, 2016). 1.4 State Hypotheses and Their Correspondence to Research Design Regarding to the tourism industry and accessibility problem for people with disabilities, some countries such as USA and some European and Asian countries have implemented the Barrier-Free Tourism (BFT). In other words, it is a disabled-friendly tourism. Barriers can be defined as those impediments encountered while participating or attempting to participate in a tourism experiences (UN, 2003). Therefore, the Barrier-Free Tourism can mean an idea and practice of freedom to participate in the tourism activity or experience, including for people with disabilities; as based on the concept, people with disabilities also have the same need to go on touring/traveling. Accessible tourism enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments. (Darcy, Cameroon, & Pegg, 2010) This study is initiated from the Barrier-Free Tourism idea. The survey about accessibility of people with disabilities to the tourism activity can be used as a basic research which is later employed as the tourism decision making of Batu City. Thus, it is expected that it can create a tourism model that is disabled-friendly. This survey is conducted in some tourist sites that become the city icons, such as Jatim Park I, Batu Secret Zoo, and Batu city square. The survey result is the accessible and non-accessible infrastructure mappings as well as their maintenance. 48 International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 6, No. 2; 2018 The lack of research about BFT in Indonesia is shown from the few studies reviewing the relationship between people with disabilities and tourism. This study becomes one of the researches filling in the knowledge gap about accessibility of people with disabilities in Indonesia.