Overview
The tourism industry has shifted nowadays. Visitors have the power to decide which destinations meeting their perception and desire. A destination therefore cannot rely only on selling their product such as tourist objects, cultures, local products, etc but it must be able to offer a wide range of attractive tourism features effectively integrated into a marketing strategy to generate more visitors.
Toraja has been provocatively promoted as a destination that perhaps most intriguingly, billed as a more remote, unspoiled alternative to Bali, and more fundamentally, as an alternative to the mundane, secular world of the West.
Witnessed as the new potential tourist spot, The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism declared Tana Toraja as the new prime destination after Bali. There were massive new construction of hotels, restaurants, infrastructures (roads) and airport (opened in 1981) to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.
With all potential and existing tourism resources the tourism industries and stakeholders have formed Tana Toraja, as the presentation of an exotic culture and off-the-beaten track destination: a destination that offers pagan funeral ceremonies and stone-age villages, furnished by the scenery of rice fields and mountains. The visitors have been given the chance to be in close contact with some version of the Other, the Exotic, the Primitive. Tourists from most countries tend to regard Toraja as a ritual being, specifically as a funeral being. In part this is coincidence, for Toraja death rituals traditionally occur in June, July, and August, after the harvest, nicely corresponding with the Western vacation calendar; and for a variety of historic and cultural reasons, Toraja strongly emphasizes death ceremonies.
As time goes by, Tana Toraja has undergone many ups and downs in its tourism industry. Some of the major episodes have shaped the current tourism industry in Toraja now: the Bali bombing (2002 and 2005), and the ethnic and religious hostility in Luwuk which is also considered as one Torajan clans. The number of visitors decreased and it took a while (almost 10 years) to recover even though it is not as good as the golden moments back in the years of 80’s and 90’s. The collapse of the tourism industry has resulted in the community looking for other forms of income such as working as migrants to big cities where Jakarta, Balikpapan or Jayapura were the chosen destinations to settle down.
The economic development and unsustainable tourism have transformed Toraja community into what it is now. As a culture-based tourism site, the traditions and rituals are slowly changing and experiencing many disruptions that made it less of their originality.
Despite of the challenges in the tourism of Toraja has such as accessibility, less attractive holiday pricing, or the misperceived identity, Toraja still has abundant opportunities to step its feet on the tourism map of Indonesia and the world. Great tourist attractions, unique offering and the remnants of Toraja’s past glory are valuable assets for its tourism. The huge untapped local market, the increasing number of global travelers will be an opening gate for Toraja to return to the global tourism market.
Toraja has always been referred to as two districts, i.e. Tana Toraja and Toraja Utara that such a division creates a perception that it is of two separate tourism destinations. Whereas both actually bear the same cultural and ethnical traits, such a separation can be disadvantageous for its positioning in the market. Thus, branding Toraja as one united tourism destination targets at improving Toraja’s competitiveness in the market.
Finally, Toraja’s competitive identity makes it distinctive and differentiate it from other tourism destinations. Through branding, it is hoped that the visitors’ perceptions about Toraja will improve better and in the end will always stay in the eyes of internal stakeholder and potential visitors and customers.
Discover The Sacred Highlands Means
All proposed logograms use the same tagline/slogan: Discover the Sacred Highland.
The three words are selected to give unique impression and sense of:
Discover – an active word, implying that in Toraja, visitors are involved to get a special experience.
Highland – indicates identity of Toraja that lies on the highlands.
Sacred – holy places, referring to the great Toraja culture with nobility / ancestors who, as the story told, descended directly from heaven.
Soaring T
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Pa'ulu Karua
The symbol depicts the eight Torajan ancestors who transfer knowledge concerning human life and the world. This symbol pictures the Torajans still carry the teachings of the ancestors to the present time.
“Banua” Roof and “Alang”
The logogram illustrates “banua” roof and “alang” which are very significant Toraja identity. “Banua” roof and alang mutually protect each other like husband and wife that become a symbol of harmony in Toraja society. Using the illustration style of one liner that is clear and requires only little additional elements.
Black & Red Color
Black always dominates Toraja’s carving art as it is always used as a base before applying other colors. Black also associates with Toraja’s culture that is close to funeral celebration. Red symbolizes human blood that generates human life. The combination of black and red represents the relationship between human’s life and death. Red and black are elegant colors that give a sense of mystery, which fits the personality of Toraja.
Official Logo Release
Toraja, 4 May 2015
Toraja Destination officially announce its selected logo and tagline which represent both Tana Toraja and Toraja Utara District as one united tourism destination.
The logo was selected by around 75% voters in both offline and online voting activities conducted from 17 – 24 April 2015.
The logo takes the inspiration from the philosophy, elements and colours of Toraja: Pa’ulu Karua as a symbol that the Torajans still carry the teaching of ancestors, and Tongkonan as a center of life. The tagline – Discover the Sacred Highlands – sends a clear message referring to the great Toraja culture and its geographical identity.
TORAJA: DISCOVER THE SACRED HIGHLANDS
Download the Guidelines for the details of the logo.
Toraja DMO (Destination Management Organization) as a regional umbrella for tourism as well as representative of local stakeholders has initiated the selection of logo and tagline. This activity is part of Toraja brand reinvention process, which took place since the second semester of 2014. A local working group (Pokja), a unit of Toraja DMO whose task will be managing the whole branding process was established. A few rounds of visits, discussions and socializations have been conducted by Pokja in Tana Toraja and Toraja Utara. A Jakarta-based brand agency professionally supports the process since the beginning.
The process resulted in three logos and tagline ready for selection by public and Toraja people. Socialisation and voting was conducted at Pantan Hotel, Tana Toraja on 17 April and Misiliana Hotel, North Toraja on 18 April. Meanwhile, the online voting took place from 17 – 24 April at Toraja Destination’s website www.visittoraja.com, which was open for public to get as many engagement from people of Toraja and its target visitors. Vote recapitulation was completed in early May, and the result is enclosed logo.
This announcement will be followed with a few rounds of socialization regarding user guideline and brand guideline of the logo and tagline. Toraja DMO encourages local government, tourism business and association, community and external stakeholders to apply the logo and tagline into the destination’s marketing and promotion activities, under guidelines of Toraja DMO.
Toraja brand reinvention aims at improving economic development through sustainable and community based tourism. Toraja has abundant opportunities to step its feet back on the tourism map for its distinctive identity – from the great pagan cultures and stone-age villages to the sleeping beauty scenery and world’s best coffee.