Chatief Kunjaya
Sabu Island, which is the area with the most sunny days in Indonesia, has the potential to become the best astrotourism destination in Indonesia if it is developed well. One type of astrotourism activity that has the potential to be developed on Sabu Island is starbath, which is an activity bathed in starlight to enjoy the beauty of the night sky, while recognizing celestial objects with the help of celestial object identification software. Among the various villages on the island of Sabu, two villages and one sub-district are ready with pokdarwis and activity areas in the form of beautiful beaches, namely Loborai village which has Rai Mea beach, Raimadia village and Mebba sub-district which has Napae beach. Training was provided by lecturers and students from ITB and ITERA, with the aim of training tourism awareness groups in the three regions. The results of the training were then applied directly to tourists who were traveling on Sabu Island. In the future, the concept of this activity can be replicated for other villages on the island of Sabu, even in other areas in NTT that have a suitable environment and climate.
Conducting training for tourism awareness groups (Pokdarwis) regarding organizing one type of astrotourism, namely Starbath.
This training gives Pokdarwis the ability to organize a new type of tourism that takes advantage of the advantages of Sabu Island, namely clear and beautiful skies, for tourists. This activity has also attracted the attention of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, so he came to Sabu Raijua to be the inspector for the August 17 ceremony and tried the Starbath activity with his staff and with the Regent of Sabu Raijua.