Our little village Ketambe can be found in the Ketambe District in Southeast Aceh Province, boardering the Gunung Leuser National Park. The gate with the words "welcome to the tourist village" welcomed everybody when they arrive. Since the 1970s, Ketambe has been known as a nature tourism village. There is the world's first Sumatran orangutan research station built by Dutch researcher Herman D Rijksen. Until now, many students from home and abroad have done research there. In 2017, even actor Leonardo DiCaprio visited the research station.
Ketambe is a favorite destination for foreign tourists who want to enjoy the forest or watch wildlife. Usually from May to August many people come and visit us. The number of foreign tourists to Ketambe averages around 1,000 people per year. The village atmosphere is very beautiful, with clean and fresh air and the sound of splashing water on the Alas River. The Alas River is known as a perfect location for white water rafting.
Tourist visiting Ketambe bring us blessings. Our economy is active through tourism activities, such as building accommodation, being a guide, and selling white water rafting tour packages. Currently, there are seven lodges in Ketambe with rates of Rp. 150,000-Rp. 200,000 per night. The management of tourism in Ketambe is carried out by residents. In addition to managing tourism, residents work on gardens as their main livelihood.
Here are some words from our now Official tourism Manager, Jack:
"My full name is Yaspi Putraga and I am a ranger in the forest. In 2007 I was assigned to Ketambe and in 2010 I married my wife here. In 2013 I began to learn more about tourism and learn to speak English with them. I really enjoy going into the jungle with visitors, showing them the pure nature and making sure they have the best time. In 2015 my friends and I created a non-governmental organization, called KPLK (Leuser Ketambe tour guide group) which is chaired by myself. This institution has 25 guides and 35 porters. After 2 years, our organization reached a dead end due to lack of support. In 2017, my friends and I again promoted KPLK with the help of guests who came to Ketambe. Throughout our trekking trip in the forest, we talked about many things realted to bussines before going to sleep. One of them was a travel writer, travelling throughout Indonesia and writign for a German forum called indojunke.com. Other guests from Spain made me a website and put an entry on TripAdvisor.
Soon after that foreign tourists started flocking to Ketambe to see orangutans. Realizing this business opportunity, we are determined to set up a large office in Ketambe as a tourist information center. Still, we haven't reached the full potential for tourism here. If promotions were more intense, I'm sure many tourists would come here, Tourism management in Ketambe has not been maximized. Infrastructure is still minimal. Limited human resources make tourism management run as it is. Promotion has not used digital technology, such as social media and websites. And the Government involvement is still lacking. In fact, tourism potential is very promising if managed properly. The head of the Southeast Aceh Tourism Office said that his party was held back by budget constraints to promote Leuser ecotourism. There need to be more management to be carried out by residents so that the benefits of tourist arrivals are felt directly by Ketambe residents. However, the contribution of the tourism sector to regional income is still low, he said. The reason for the lack of visits is mostly due to transportation constraints. To get to Ketambe, it takes at least eight hours from Medan Kuala Airport. Southeast Aceh Regent Raidin Pinim admits that tourism management has not been maximized. However, the government was trying to develop Leuser tourism, by for example holding a national level rafting competition every year. But the annual competition has not developed yet. The district government needs to carry out another strategy to invite more tourists. Not long after, disaster struck all over the world. Great pressure due to the Covid-19 pandemic is increasingly being felt by the community's economy. The government noted that Ketambe's economic growth rate in the second quartal of 2020 fell by 99 percent compared to the same period last year. “The Ketambe economy is facing a deep downturn. This double-digit decline is the first time Ketambe experienced negative growth since the Aceh-Indonesian conflict. Never before, the growth rate in this tourism area has been minus successively. In 2020, the government created a cooperative for nature tourism of the archipelago. They came and took a look at the natural tourist sites of Gunung Leuser National Park throughout Indonesia. They saw that our situation is very sad and serious, so they offered my organisation to join their cooperative. Without thinking long, my friends and I immediately declared ourselves ready to join and help save ecotourism and the community's economy through targeted work programs and clear benefits for the community and the Gunung Leuser National Park forest. Hopefully, we can manage to better the facilities in Ketambe and work out better tourism strategies to support our village. The better the econimic situation, the lesser people have to resort to illegal logging and wildlife trafficking to support their families. Come visit us and support our bussiness directly!"
