The Border and Foreign Cooperation Bureau of Papua province says as many as 5,000 local and foreign tourists visit the Skouw Border Post of The Republic of Indonesia (PLBN), Jayapura City, every week.
Head of the Border and Foreign Cooperation Bureau of Papua Province Suzana Wanggai in Jayapura, said that the number of 5,000 visitors can be seen on Saturday, Sunday or holiday. “While per day, the number of tourist visits can reach 500 people, both local and foreign tourists,” Suzana said.
Supervisors in the PLBN even to be overwhelmed when visitors crowded. “To enter to Skouw PLBN there is no admission price that we apply to visitors, only our integrated monitoring apply and keep checking every visitor luggage,” she explained.
According to Suzana, for Tuesday and Thursday, tourists from Papua New Guinea can reach 1,500 people. The sense of public interest from both Papua and Papua New Guinea is very high to visit the PLBN Skouw. This can be seen from about 600 vehicles entering the border area, especially on Saturday and Sunday, such as buses, two-wheeled vehicles, and four-wheeled vehicles.
Suzana said that the government continues to add a number of facilities to support any services at PLBN Skouw, such as providing a money exchange, modern market, and a wider parking location. She added that the Skouw PLBN was built on an area of 10.2 hectares and consists of 10 buildings. The facilities available at PLBN Skouw are not only related to immigration activities and quarantine centers, but there are also snacks and handicraft centers, and car washes.
According to Suzana, everyone who comes to Jayapura wants to visit PLBN Skouw because the building is magnificent and worthy of being a new destination for tourists. “With the construction of a magnificent post border, the government has shown the beauty in the eastern edge of Indonesia,” Suzana added.
Mulyati, one of the visitors of PLBN Skouw, said that the border post has been much better now, “It’s so cool. In 2015, this place is arid, if I came with my family, we usually only photographed at the entrance gate to PNG and then go home,” Mulyati said.
Task Force Infantry Battalion 122/Tomba Sakti, First Lieutenant (Lettu) CHK Wiraharyono Legal Officer admits that the border now becomes a tourist spot for the community, not only the people of Jayapura but from other regions. “From ID card that we check sometimes we meet there are tourists from Timika, mountainous areas, and other areas,” he said. (republika.co.id, antaranews.com, jpnn.com)
Keywords: Papua, West Papua, Jayapura, Skouw PLBN, development, tourism, border area
