REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MALANG -- The Great Hall of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (BB TNBTS) again closed its tourist activities on Mount Bromo on 25-26 April 2024 for cleaning the area. Similar activities have been carried out as early as April 2024.
Head of the Administrative Department of TNBTS Besar Hall Septi Eka Wardhani in Malang City, East Java, said the closure of Bromo tours for cleaning the area aims to educate visitors that the garbage problem can be prevented.
“We want to educate visitors, that litter is a big problem and must be prevented together,” Septi said on Tuesday (23/4/2024).
Septi explained that people or tourists visiting the area of the national park are asked not to throw away or leave garbage. Such garbage can be stored in advance and later disposed of in the provided place.
The Great Hall of TNBTS hopes that the public can be more aware of the importance of not disposing of waste carelessly in the national park area. The diners are expected to be more responsible on their respective litters.
“National parks are not landfills. That's why we don't provide a lot of bins, because we expect visitors to be able to take responsibility on each other's rubbish,” he said.
The first phase of the cleaning of the Bromo area was carried out on April 4 from 00:01pm to April 5, 2024 at 23.59 pm. The second phase will be conducted on April 25 at 00.01 WIB until April 26, 2024 at 23.59 WIB.
Septi said that in the first phase of the cleanup of the area there were approximately 3.5 tons of garbage cleared from the Mount Bromo area. Most of the waste is plastic that is thrown away carelessly.
In the first phase, a number of points were waste removal sites, including Gunung Penanjakan, Bukit Kedaluh, Simpang Dingklik, Ferns Bincil, Sea Pasir, the area around the Bromo steps, the peak of Mount Bromo, and the Watangan Valley Savana.
In the cleanup action carried out in early April 2024, approximately 450 personnel were deployed, ranging from the Great Hall of TNBTS, TNI/police, volunteers, jeep and horse tourism operators, including street vendors (PKL).
“In total there were 450 personnel from various elements fielded. The total garbage cleared reached more than 3.5 tonnes or the equivalent capacity of 12 pickup cars,” he said.
On April 25-26, the closure of the Mount Bromo area will be carried out starting from the Probolinggo Regency area at the entrance of Cemorolawang. While from the direction of Pasuruan Regency, access is closed from the Dingklik area. Then, for the entrance from the direction of Malang Regency and Lumajang Regency, it was closed in the Jemplang area.
According to the records of the TNBTS Besar Hall, the number of tourist visits in one of the main tourist destinations in East Java in 2023 reached 368,507 people, which is divided between archipelagic and foreign tourists.
This number, divided among 355,297 tourists from the archipelago and 13,210 people were foreign tourists. The visit also provided Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) worth Rp 14.70 billion.
