TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency chief Arie Budiman said he was alarmed by the garbage issue in the Thousand Islands regency. He added the rising number of visitors to the regency had also exacerbated the situation.
The Thousand Islands Regency saw about 1.25 million visitors in 2013 and the public enthusiasm towards the regency has been steadily escalating.
From January to June 2014, the number of tourists visiting the regency reached 894,488 and the figure is projected to reach two million by the end of the year.
Arie, however, did not reveal the volume of garbage in the regency. He said he already asked the Thousand Islands administration to call on both locals and visitors to refrain from littering.
“If the number of visitors increases, there should be an obligation to clean up,” Arie said on Sunday, adding that the government must also warn litterers sternly.
He said another way to cope with the garbage issue was by chanelling visitors evenly to the islands. “Don’t just distribute them to an island,” he said.
ERWAN HERMAWAN