Barito (Indonesia) and Chao Phraya (Thailand) Rivers Cultural Tourism Development Strategies

Abstract

Southeast Asia is a region consisting of the mainland and archipelago. Residents around inland waters, especially rivers, have a unique culture called river culture. One of the river cultures is a floating market that is found in several Southeast Asian countries. The floating market on the Chao Phraya River has been successfully developed as a leading tourism destination. Indonesia has a floating market on the Barito River which has great potential but has not been developed to its full potential. This study will discuss how to develop river culture tourism in Indonesia through a comparative study between the floating market on the Barito River, Indonesia and the Chao Phraya River, Thailand. This study uses a qualitative method based on the theory of cultural ecology. The analysis was carried out using the SWOT method. This research corpus uses the results of previous studies on river culture that developed in the Chao Phraya River, Thailand which is used as a comparison against the river culture in the Barito River. Secondary sources are taken from documentary film, traveler’s blog, books, and various publications related to this research. This study finds that the development of floating markets is in accordance with the theory of cultural ecology. Barito has unique culture that are combination of local and Islamic culture. However, the infrastructure, human resources quality, products and services has not well developed to gain sustainable local tourism community. Barito River floating market tourism development strategies can be applied through site selection, operating schedule arrangements, quality improvement and diversification of services offered, market organization, and hydration with other entertainment attractions. The development strategy must take into account the principles of sustainable cultural tourism development. In conclusion the development of floating market tourism on the Chao Phraya River can be an example for the development of floating markets on the Barito River.KEYWORDS: floating market, chao phraya river, barito river, tourism, development strategies