Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
66
4. CASE STUDIES – OIC Countries
In this section the case studies carried out for this report into crisis management in tourism in four
member countries of theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperationwill be presented. The four case study
countries are Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia and The Gambia, of which the first three were visited by
the project team in order to carry out a field study, while The Gambia was investigated via desk
research. In each case, an initial brief overview is given of the history and development of tourism
in order to set the context for crisis situations that have arisen. The crises or disasters that have
occurred are then outlined along with their impact on tourism, followed by measures taken by the
government and industry of the country concerned to recover. Successful actions and strategies are
highlighted.
4.1. Case Study 1 – Indonesia (Field study)
4.1.1. History and Development of Tourism in Indonesia
Tourism in Indonesia started during the colonial era. In the 19th century hotels with
recreational and leisure services were established, especially in Jakarta (then Batavia) and
Bandung. Other hotels were built in early 20 th Century in Surabaya, Medan and other important
provincial centres. The earliest visitors arriving for leisure purposes were from the Netherlands,
which was the colonial power in Indonesia from the 17th century to 1945. With the first national
tourism bureau established by the colonial authorities, early in the 20th century, Bali became
more widely known to international tourists for its impressive cultural heritage, religious
ceremonies and architecture, dance performances and arts. Before the Second World War most
of the international visitors arrived via cruise ships, although long-distance flights commenced
from Amsterdam to Jakarta in 1929.
After World War II and Indonesian independence in 1945, the new government began to revive
the tourism sector. In 1952, a national committee on tourism affairs was established and
delegated to establish Indonesia as a tourist destination. During the late 1950's and early 1960's
the sector slowly developed, partly through modern hotels and beach resorts built under war
reparations paid by the Japanese. Most of the visitors at the time were business visitors,
although some mass tourism was beginning to occur in Bali. Political and economic instability
during the mid-sixties caused tourism to die away almost completely. After the political and
social situation stabilised in 1967, a directorate general of tourismwas established in 1969, and
guidelines for developing tourism were issued (Cochrane, 2003).
The first tourismmasterplan for Bali was created in 1971, covering the development of tourism
resorts in the south of the island. Part of the aim was to protect the cultural heartlands of Bali
from over-exposure to tourism. However, due to market pressure and to dissatisfaction from
other regions that they were being excluded from the economic benefits of tourism, by 1998
planning was extended to include 15 other locations in Bali (Suparwoko, 2012).