Robert Cribb - International tourism in Java, 1900-1930

Jul 6, 2026

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International tourism in Java during 1900–1930 is analyzed as a modern Indonesian industry shaped by definitions of “tourist” travel, shifts in autonomy and access, and the expansion of Western tourism at the turn of the twentieth century. The paper links the broader rise of railways, steamships, and growing incomes to increasing travel demand. It then examines why Java became a prime destination and how colonial Dutch authorities moved from restrictive permits and suspicion toward welcoming foreign tourists as official attitudes changed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

International tourism and modern Indonesia

Defining tourism and the loss of independence

Western tourism expansion around 1900

Java as a leading destination

Infrastructure, security, and shipping routes

European population and colonial reassurances

Colonial attitudes toward foreign visitors

Permit systems and restrictions

Changing official policy toward tourists

International tourism in Java,1900-1930 Author(s):Robert Cribb Source:South East Asia Research,Vol.3,No.2(SEPTEMBER 1995),pp.193-204 Published by:Taylor &Francis,Ltd. Stable URL:https://www.jstor.org/stable/23746910 Accessed:23-10-201909:39 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars,researchers,and students discover,use,and build upon a widerange of content in a trusted digital archive.We use information technology and tools to increase productivity andfacilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR,please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms &Conditions of Use,available athttps://about.jstor.org/terms Taylor&Francis,Ltd.is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access toSouth East Asia Research # International tourism in Java,1900-19301 Robert Cribb International tourism is one of modern Indonesia's major industries andsources of foreign exchange.In 1989,over a million and a half foreigntourists arrived in Indonesia and the number seems likely to continue torise.2 The present boom began during the 1970s,after President Suharto'sNew Order government was able to provide the security and the facilitieswhich had largely been lacking under Sukarno's Guided Democracy,butIndonesia's history as a tourist destination goes back much earlier.Datingthe precise start of modern international tourism in Indonesia is as much aproblem of definition as of information.Tourism at its broadest is travelfor pleasure,but many early travellers who were not tourists none the lesstook pleasure in their journeying.Rijklof van Goens,who visited the courtof Mataram in Central Java in the middle of the seventeenth century,brokehis journey to climb to the summit of Mount Merbabu,purely because itwas so beautiful.3 The same joie de vivre can be found in the writings ofthe nineteenth-century naturalist Frans Junghuhn and many other earlywriters.Tourism,therefore,is perhaps best characterized not just by theelement of pleasure but also by a loss of independence.In exchange foraccess,the tourist surrenders autonomy whether by joining a tour group orsimply by following a guidebook which maps out one or more beatenpaths.If we can take guidebooks and tour groups as the key signs ofmodern tourism,then we can date international tourism in the Indies toaround the beginning of the twentieth century. The inclusion of the Netherlands Indies in international tourist itinerarieswas part of a general expansion of Western tourism to the rest of the worldaround the turn of the century.During the nineteenth century,the industrialrevolution in Europe had led both to rising incomes and to a clearer 1An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Biennial Conference of the AsianStudies Association of Australia,Perth,July 1994. 2 See Anne Booth,"The tourism boom in Indonesia',Bulletin of Indonesian EconomicStudies,26,3,1990,pp.45-73. 3 ·Reijsbeschrijving van den weg uijt Samarangh nae de Koninckljke hoofdplaets Mataram,mitsgaders de zeeden,gewoonten ende regeringe van den Sousouhounan,groot machtichstevan't eijlant Java',in H.J.de Graaf,ed.,De vif gezantschapsreizen van Rijklof van Goensnaar hei hof van Mataram 1648-1654.'s-Gravenhage:Martinus Nijhoff,1956,pp.208-09. This content downloaded from 152.118.150.55 on Wed,23 Oct 201909:39:12 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms distinction between work and leisure,both of which gave the opportunityfor travel to ever increasing numbers of people;numbers in turn generatedeconomies of scale which made travel still more affordable,while theintroduction of railways and later steamships opened wider and wider regionsto the tourist of relatively modest resources.Domestic tourism was soonsupplemented by international tourism,and the search for new destinationsburst beyond the bounds of Europe and North America in the last decade orso of the nineteenth century. Within the

FAQs

How does the document define modern international tourism in Java around 1900?

Modern international tourism is dated to around the beginning of the twentieth century by linking it to guidebooks and tour groups as key signs of the tourist system.

Why did Western tourism expand toward new destinations at the turn of the century?

Rising incomes and leisure/work distinctions, combined with economies of scale and improved transport (railways and steamships), made travel more affordable and reachable beyond Europe and North America.

What role did colonial Dutch authorities play in shaping tourism in Java?

Initially Dutch authorities restricted outsiders and required formal permission to travel beyond main cities, viewing tourists with suspicion; over a decade, official attitudes shifted and international tourists were welcomed.

Jul 6, 2026

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