Why Hotels in Bandung Don't Provide Maps?

I visited Bandung last week to attend Baros International Animation Festival as exhibitor and to meet experts from several countries including Malaysia. After gain insights and hopefully chances of future collaboration with BayuSekti, an animation movie i co-produce, i have 2 and half days free to enjoy this lovable and chilling city.

The iconic Gedung Sate of Bandung

What i found next could be a simple theory on why Indonesia is still left behind in term of tourism, compare with Malaysia, where i have been live for the last 3 years.

WITHOUT MAPS, PEOPLE WILL GET LOST OR DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT!

In Malaysia, even in a less touristy and not so famous places, i can always find maps in every hotel i stay in. For example, in a backpacker hotel in Kota Bharu where i only pay RM 15 for a night, the receptionist gave me map and explain to me very detail about interesting places i can visit and how to go to there, by taking bus, or by cab, or walking distance.

In Penang, they have special maps dedicated only for food! So, for culinary lovers, the maps will guide you if you want to find a delicious laksa, char kwe tiau, or the famous chendol. Maps is something common, and people can get it for free, including in airport. I've been traveling across Malaysia and visited Ipoh, Langkawi, Kuala Besut, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Malaka, to name a few, and free maps always easy to get.

Same thing when i travel further. When i visited Yangoon at the beginning of this month, maps are accessible everywhere! I was also satisfied to see the hotel staff who are very ready to do their jobs, to make our stay enjoyable, and to explain whatever questions we have and mostly they were always refer to maps.

In other places i visited including Bangkok, Hongkong, Macau, Siem Reap, this has been a norm. A standard. Tourists expect to get map, especially from the hotel they stay. Because they want to explore, they want to roam around. How to do that without maps? Even, i cant find maps in Husein Sastranegara Airport!

MAYBE THEY THINK MAP IS NOT IMPORTANT?

"They can use Google Maps!" said my friend, Raymond, who accompany me roaming around Bandung and its vicinity. I disagree, because it's a lazy argument. Not all tourists were feeling convenient using Google Maps and there are a lot of reasons why we still need maps: maps don't need batteries, maps can tell us what is around us, maps can highlight hazard, etc.

Maps maybe a "small detail" but i am a person who trust that the beauty is on the detail. Furthermore, the fact that it's very hard to find maps in Bandung maybe a symptom of something bigger which is: we are not ready to catch up with international standard in the tourism industry, let alone to exceed it.

The tourism minister we have right now maybe the best from all the tourism minister we had, but the implementation on the strategy might be still need to be questioned? Is it effective enough? Is there any change in the mentality of the people who are involved in this industry? Because this is not just about policy, but actualisation of it (from top to bottom) that really matter.

IT'S STILL BEAUTIFUL NONETHELESS

Maybe it's not the local who will fully appreciate the map. Perhaps you need to imagine you were a foreigner who can't speak local language, and you need help from one of universal languages: map. As i visited Taman Hutan Raya Juanda, i didn't get any map, but i am Indonesian who can speak Bahasa Indonesia and a bit Sundanese, so i was really sure that exploring the jungle won't be a daunting activity. But, how about if you were a Japanese who can't speak English properly let alone Bahasa Indonesia. You're gonna need map.

Goa Jepang in Taman Hutan Juanda

Although i am Indonesian, i still prefer getting a map to add a feeling of adventure. Why map is not something common here? Is this only in Bandung, or also in other part of Indonesia?

I visited Penang and its interesting national park in February this year, and i got free maps to accompany me explore the national park.

So, just from that one element i can see why Malaysia tourism is far ahead Indonesia. I have to say, Malaysia is more ready than us. You can download report from WTO regarding travel and tourism competitiveness index to see where we are in this emerging tourism industry. We have a lot of homework, despite a good progress in the last couple of years.

The surreal Kawah Putih-2 hours drive from the city

However, as an Indonesian who stay in the long term in Malaysia, and have privilege to explore southeast Asia as a tourist, i enjoyed Bandung so much. I love the weather, the food and the unique friendliness of the local, and they have distinct sense of humour too! Do you know, that a lot of Indonesian comedian are from Bandung and are of Sundanese ethnic group?

Fogs come and go with the wind in this amazing Kawah Putih area

By the way, someone said that the problem with Indonesia is not that we don't have "proper things" to be offered to the world, but merely we are lacking of exposure! Maybe that's why, sadly i don't really see foreign tourists in Bandung. Most of them are local, and many are from Malaysia, but i don't see any causasian or Japanese, or Korean.

Government, especially from West Java, please do something about it! Can you guys come up with more aggressive tourism strategy?

EXCUSE ME, CAN I GET A MAP?
We're back to my hotel that night after we explore Kawah Putih and an exquisite lake called Situ Patenggang.

Kartipah Hotel in Bandung

As a traveler, i always feel sad when i checked out and need to return to my "ordinary world". However, there's nothing i can do automatically other than asking a city map to a receptionist, as soon as i checked in. "Excuse me, can i get a map?" the answer i got in Bandung, was, "we don't have map."