ANGIN and provincial government of Bangka Belitung collaborated in a joint effort to promote local tourism SMEs that are rooted in existing trade products in the Bangka Belitung Islands. The study is needed as the basis for ANGIN and the Bangka Belitung Islands Province to jointly market its local SMEs with the aim of developing these SMEs into sustainable businesses at the local, regional and international levels and as agents of change with an environmentally friendly perspective.
This potential-development effort is translated into a series of activities that include research, training, and marketing of the leading potential of SMEs and tourism for businesses and tourism operators in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province. The tourist attractions included in the study are Penyusuk Beach, Putri Beach, Buhir forest and waterfall, Bangka Induk district, Soekarno Hatta exile site area, Nyato Air Bulin village and forest, Pelawan Desa Namang forest, Kaolin lake, Batu Belimbing, Lepar Pongok island, South Bangka (ex open-pit mining), and Belitung & East Belitung districts. The output of the study will contribute to the next step of the potential-development effort, which is training and marketing processes.
ANGIN’s Business Development Associate Novi Juwita was joined by ANGIN’s Communications Manager, Sarah Soeprapto, to lead the project as a part of a series of efforts to develop tourism potential in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province. They kicked off the project with a survey that was conducted in early November.
Pepper, Fish Products, and Honey Value Chain Mapping
This mapping was done through qualitative research method (observation and interview) to map the SMEs existing around Bangka Belitung’s tourist attractions and the stakeholders involved in the development of local SME products (pepper, fish products, honey).
After the team conducted the mapping, here are some important insights on the commodities of Bangka Belitung:
Pepper: As for now, the price of pepper is falling. The low price is because pepper is relatively easy to grow anywhere (not only Bangka), and some countries like Vietnam have also started to produce pepper. In addition to that, storing pepper is quite easy and can last for decades.
Fish products: Fish products are increasingly declining due to the exploitation of tin which now has reached the middle of the sea. Environmental pollution is one of the things that inhibits fish production. It becomes a challenge for fish product sellers because while the demand remains constant, the fish stocks are unreliable.
Honey: Bitter honey is Bangka’s signature honey that is produced from wild bees that consume the bitter nectar from the flowers of the Pelawan tree. The Pelawan tree with red trunks only exist in Bangka, which makes it a potential that can be developed. On the other hand, the amount of Bangka honey harvest is uncertain because it uses wild bees that cannot be cultivated, and the honey could only be harvested one or two times a year.
Based on the survey and the insights above, for the next step ANGIN will design training based on the needs of the SME actors and tourism entrepreneurs in Bangka Belitung and publish the final results.
Training for local SMEs
The training for local Bangka Belitung SMEs will include business management skills. At the end, program recommendations will be prioritized based on their economic impact. These include the impact on local Bangka Belitung products: growth/market creation, job creation, comparative advantage (productivity/efficiency), and added value.
Publication & Showcase
The SMEs that have completed ANGIN’s training will be showcased in an online and printed report published by ANGIN’s new signature programme namely ‘The Navigator’.
In this program, ANGIN tried to combine economic goals with environmental and social objectives, so that the project achieves greater impact and the quality of growth is improved.
