Banjarmasin's Delayed "River Cruise" Tour

"City of a Thousand Rivers," is the nickname for Banjarmasin. This nickname reflects the importance and abundance of rivers in the city.

With this nickname, the Banjarmasin City Government is proactively leveraging its tourism potential to attract tourists from outside the city to visit this city of a thousand rivers. The idea is to offer tourist attractions that leverage the existing rivers. Rivers are a potential resource for development as tourist destinations.

Many cities in Kalimantan already have river tourism. However, Banjarmasin appears to be taking it more seriously, launching two culinary cruises late last year. The two cruises are a two-story "Culinary Tourism Cruise" owned by the Banjarmasin City Government and the "Banjarmasin River Cruise" owned by the Banjarmasin Drinking Water Company.

source image : smartcity.banjarmasinkota.go.id

These two boats offer a scenic view of the Martapura River, offering a tour of the natural beauty while enjoying authentic Banjarmasin cuisine. The two boats feature rooftop dining options and are ready to take tourists along the panoramic views of the Martapura River. These boats will be converted into floating restaurants, inviting tourists to cruise along the Martapura River while dining.

However, the development of this new river cruise concept has encountered obstacles. The Acting Head of the Banjarmasin City Department of Culture, Youth, Sports, and Tourism (Disbudporapar), Fitriah, acknowledged that this is currently quite difficult to implement.

The boats were unable to sail, unable to navigate the river because they were too high and got stuck on the bridge that spans the Martapura River in Banjarmasin. Why? The answer is high tide. Yes, high tide.

source image : kompas.com

On the island of Kalimantan, it's not just the sea that experiences high and low tides. River water also experiences the same thing.

Perhaps the boat is too large, so at high tide, it can't pass the bridge that crosses the river. However, at low tide, the boat can't operate either because the water is too shallow. It's a shame that the development of this river cruise destination hasn't been maximized. "We don't even park this tourist boat in the Siring Menara Pandang area because it's guaranteed to get stuck at low tide and can't move," said Fitriah.

source image : economictravelling.com

So what's the real problem? Are the boats unable to operate because of high tide or low tide? The answer seems to be that the boats are too large.

According to the Acting Head of the Banjarmasin City Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Tourism Office, the large size of the boats combined with high tide makes them difficult to operate. "When the tide is high, the boats are quite difficult to operate because the bridges in Banjarmasin are low," said Fitriah.

The Tourism Office appears to need to redesign the boats to suit the river conditions in Banjarmasin. How can they be designed so that they don't get stuck on bridges during high tide and don't get stuck on the riverbed during low tide?

source image : kanalkalimantan.com

Another way to make river cruise tourism work, as suggested by Fitriah, is to dredge the river to make it deeper. Is dredging the river the only solution?

If dredging is maximized but boats still get stuck, should the bridges along the river be raised? Doing so would be time-consuming and costly.

The Banjarmasin City Government would be wise to conduct comparative studies with cities around the world that manage river tourism, such as Venice, Italy, or the Mekong River in Vietnam. They would examine the shape and size of the boats, the height of the bridges, and how river tourism is managed to attract international tourists.

source image : lokalhits.com

The Head of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Office, Fitriah, hopes that the obstacles to developing river cruise tourism will be resolved soon. "As the nickname 'City of a Thousand Rivers' suggests, tourist destinations should involve rivers to create their own unique characteristics," she said.

That concludes my post for now. Thank you.

Regards @nazaroel