With this in mind, it is extremely important for individual tourists, and the industry as a whole to understand that their presence has influence, and that in order to obtain an authentic cultural experience whilst visiting Raja Ampat without causing disturbance or offence, it is essential to acknowledge the existing local culture, and do everything possible to integrate and be respectful.

A simple method of doing this is to mimic the behavior of local community members, particularly when in a local community context, ie: observe how they dress and interact, and do the same. For example; in Raja Ampat you would not see women walking around communities in revealing swimsuits, short shorts or mid-rif tops, indicating this is culturally incorrect at this time. Alternatively, by offering to share tea, coffee or a meal with locals, you can show a greater respect for local culture and subsequently will have a far more enriching and authentic experience.

Unfortunately, much of the industry buffers tourists from the reality of community life in Raja Ampat, and as such there are tourists who are unaware, make little effort to understand cultural norms and unwittingly breach them, or worse blatantly ignore them, causing offence to older community members, and serving as poor examples that support or enable culturally inappropriate/unacceptable behaviours and ideals to younger community members. Examples include; open and/or liberal use of alcohol, loud activities on religious or ceremonial days, or particular interactions between males/females that are unfamiliar or culturally unacceptable.

It’s important for us all to remember; when tourists visit our own home countries we expect them to behave in a way that suits our culture and causes no offense. Therefore, it is the same when we are tourists; it is our responsibility, and that of our chosen operator to be culturally aware of the communities in which we are entering, and pay full respect to the ways of the local people an customs at all times.

In Raja Ampat, the service based need for more modern, bigger and faster boats means greater efficiency and better access to services, yet it has lead to fewer people having the skills to carve a traditional canoe or use tides and currents to optimize fuel costs. In more developed areas, fewer local community members still retain the ability to navigate using stars and the moon, and choose sonar based ‘fish finders’ as opposed to local knowledge, thus altering long held fishing practices.

Most noticeably, with each passing generation the use of local Papuan languages becomes reduced; Raja Ampat is home to 15 known local languages and dialects, yet many of younger generations speak primarily Bahasa Indonesia and perhaps some English, with limited knowledge of local languages. Additionally, the long held tradition of ‘sasi’, a successful traditional management method that permits, forbids or restricts certain activities (which can be applied to natural resource extraction such as fishing of certain species, or within certain areas OR community behaviour such as drinking alcohol) is losing strength, in particular in the more touristic areas.

For a multitude of complex reasons (cultural, political, economic and geographical), local community members in Raja Ampat have more limited access to higher levels of education, professional training and work experience. Subsequently higher skilled and more prestigious managerial/technical positions go to more urbanised nationals or foreigners, leaving limited choice and access to livelihood opportunities outside traditional subsistence living, with those opportunities that remain being lower skilled and lower paid, and typically extractive and based in the exploitation of coral reefs and the marine environment.

Increasing tourism can have a physical influence on a destination, which can cause social stress when it impacts the local community. This can include:

• Cultural deterioration and damage to cultural heritage or natural resources from vandalism, littering or removal
• Change to culturally sensitive landscapes and ecology as coastal development increases
• Conflicts with traditional land-users when construction restricts access for local communities to land or traditional fishing grounds
• Stress over the use of natural resources, for example – fresh water.

Again, it is crucial that any development activities take the time to become aware of cultural sensitivities that may be present or arise, and take them into consideration during the planning phase.