At the edge of Lake Sentani, where traditional culture, local food and the daily life of communities meet the landscape, Khalkote Beach is being developed into a new tourism icon in Jayapura. The initiative is being promoted through the 15th Festival Danau Sentani, or FDS XV, as the Jayapura Regency Government seeks to turn a festival venue into a destination that remains active long after the event ends.
The move reflects a broader approach to tourism development in Papua. Rather than relying solely on major annual events, local authorities are seeking to connect cultural celebrations with small businesses, traditional cuisine, handicrafts and community participation.
The Festival Danau Sentani XV, which carries the theme “Budayaku adalah Hidupku,” or “My Culture Is My Life,” or “My Culture Is My Life”, is scheduled to reach its main event from September 3 to 5, 2026. Its pre-event programme began at Khalkote on August 25.
Reports by Indonesian media, including ANTARA and Portal Papua, indicate that the Jayapura administration intends to develop the Khalkote area as a permanent centre for traditional food, community businesses and tourism. The policy places the lakeside location at the heart of efforts to expand the local creative economy while preserving the cultural character of the Sentani community.
From Festival Venue to Permanent Destination
For many tourism destinations, the challenge begins after the festival ends. Crowds arrive, businesses open temporary stalls, cultural performances attract attention, and then the activity gradually disappears.
Jayapura officials are attempting to avoid that cycle at Khalkote.
Bupati Jayapura Yunus Wonda has said the area is intended to become a permanent tourism and culinary centre rather than simply a place for the annual Festival Danau Sentani. Traditional dishes such as papeda are expected to become part of the attraction, giving visitors an opportunity to experience local cuisine while creating economic opportunities for residents.
The concept is straightforward but potentially significant: a festival can generate short-term attention, while a permanent tourism district can create a more consistent flow of visitors and customers.
ANTARA previously reported that the Jayapura Regency Government was developing the FDS area at Khalkote as an icon of Sentani’s indigenous culture and a centre for local economic activity. The plan includes traditional culinary businesses, spaces for community enterprises and a permanent tourism destination.
This approach also fits the wider direction of FDS XV. The festival is increasingly being presented not merely as an entertainment programme but as a platform linking culture, tourism and economic development.
Why Khalkote Matters
Khalkote’s location provides an important advantage. The area sits within the broader cultural and natural landscape of Lake Sentani, one of Papua’s best-known destinations.
Yet its value is not limited to scenery.
The communities surrounding Lake Sentani possess traditions expressed through dance, music, stories, handicrafts, food and relationships with the lake itself. The festival therefore provides a way to package those cultural assets for visitors without separating them from the communities that sustain them.
At the opening of the FDS XV pre-event, Papua Governor Matius D. Fakhiri stressed that the strength of Lake Sentani lies not only in its natural landscape but also in the culture of the communities living around it. He highlighted traditional performances, music, handicrafts and culinary traditions as potential drivers of cultural tourism.
That distinction matters for Papua’s tourism strategy. A destination becomes more competitive when visitors have reasons to stay, eat, shop and interact with local communities rather than simply stop for photographs.
Papeda and Local Cuisine at the Centre
One of the most visible elements of the Khalkote development is food.
The Jayapura Regency Government has used the FDS period to promote local culinary products, including papeda, a traditional staple made from sago. A free papeda meal event was also organised at Khalkote as part of the efforts to support the local economy.
Food may appear to be a modest component of tourism, but its economic impact can spread widely. A culinary destination requires farmers, fishermen, food processors, cooks, stall operators, transport providers and other small businesses.
In Papua, this connection is particularly relevant because tourism can provide an additional market for products that are already part of community life.
A visitor who comes to Khalkote for a cultural performance may purchase traditional food. That visitor may then buy handicrafts, hire local transport or visit another attraction around Lake Sentani. The economic benefit can therefore extend beyond the festival grounds.
This is one reason the government’s emphasis on culinary tourism is strategically important.
Rather than replacing traditional culture with commercial entertainment, the challenge is to make traditional culture economically viable while retaining its authenticity.
FDS XV Puts Culture at the Heart of Tourism
The 2026 festival theme, “Budayaku adalah Hidupku”, carries a message that goes beyond tourism promotion.
Governor Fakhiri has described the festival as an opportunity to keep Papua’s cultural heritage alive and to encourage younger generations to become active participants in preserving it. The pre-event programme includes traditional performances, music, folklore, handicrafts and culinary activities, alongside creative competitions involving young people.
Among the cultural activities are Iso-Solo performances, traditional music, local stories and handicrafts. Modern creative activities such as photography, videography, music and dance also provide younger Papuans with new ways to engage with their heritage.
This combination is important.
Culture survives not simply because it is displayed, but because people continue to practise it. When young people see traditional arts as compatible with contemporary creative industries, cultural preservation can become more sustainable.
For international visitors, the shift also creates a richer tourism experience. Papua is not presented merely as a remote landscape but as a place where communities, traditions and contemporary life continue to interact.
A Bridge Between Tradition and the Creative Economy
The Khalkote project also has an economic dimension.
Governor Fakhiri has praised the Jayapura administration’s efforts to organise the area as a space for micro, small and medium enterprises, culinary businesses, handicrafts and cultural activities. He has emphasised that the location should remain active after the festival ends.
That creates an opportunity for the festival to become part of a broader local economic ecosystem.
For small businesses, visibility is often as important as infrastructure. A well-organised tourism area can provide a physical marketplace where local entrepreneurs can meet customers directly.
The challenge, however, will be ensuring that local businesses receive meaningful and sustained access to that marketplace. A tourism centre cannot depend indefinitely on government-funded events. It needs regular visitors, reliable facilities, adequate sanitation, transportation access and effective promotion.
The long-term success of Khalkote will therefore depend on what happens after FDS XV.
Tourism Development and Environmental Responsibility
There is another element that cannot be separated from the Khalkote project: Lake Sentani itself.
Tourism development around a lake carries an obvious environmental responsibility. More visitors can create more waste, pressure on water resources and increased demand for infrastructure.
Governor Fakhiri has called for the development of Lake Sentani’s natural and cultural potential to be undertaken sustainably. During the FDS pre-event, he also framed the festival as an opportunity to encourage collective efforts to protect the lake and its surrounding environment.
For Khalkote, this means that tourism infrastructure should grow alongside environmental management.
Clean public spaces, waste collection, responsible food businesses and protection of the lakeside environment are not simply aesthetic concerns. They are part of the economic foundation of tourism.
A polluted destination eventually loses visitors. A well-maintained destination can attract them repeatedly.
A Broader Vision for Papua Tourism
The Khalkote initiative comes at a time when Papua is seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen community-based development.
Tourism offers one possible avenue because its economic benefits can reach sectors outside the formal tourism industry. Accommodation, transportation, food production, handicrafts, performing arts and local retail can all benefit when visitor numbers increase.
For Jayapura, Lake Sentani provides a natural starting point.
The area already possesses a recognisable cultural identity and an established festival. The government’s current strategy is to connect these existing strengths with permanent infrastructure and economic activity.
The significance extends beyond Jayapura Regency. If the Khalkote model works, other parts of Papua could explore similar approaches, using cultural festivals as gateways to longer-term tourism development.
Such a model could also strengthen the role of local communities in the tourism economy. Instead of communities being passive spectators, they can become performers, entrepreneurs, food producers, artisans and guides.
That is particularly relevant for the younger generation.
Governor Fakhiri has encouraged young Papuans to move beyond being spectators and become actors and successors in cultural preservation through arts, photography, videography and other creative activities.
Government, Communities and the Future of Khalkote
The development of Khalkote will ultimately require more than government planning.
Local communities, customary leaders, entrepreneurs, artists and young people will determine whether the area develops into a living tourism destination or remains primarily associated with an annual festival.
The government’s role is to provide infrastructure, regulation, promotion and a stable environment for investment and community businesses.
The community’s role is equally important. Cultural knowledge, traditional food, artistic performances and local hospitality are the assets that make the destination distinctive.
The private sector can contribute through accommodation, transportation, food services and tourism packages. Meanwhile, creative industries can help introduce Khalkote and Lake Sentani to international audiences.
This multi-stakeholder model could provide the project greater resilience.
It also reflects the increasingly important idea that tourism development should be measured not only by visitor numbers but also by how much value remains in the destination.
Khalkote’s International Tourism Potential
For international travellers, Papua remains primarily associated with its dramatic landscapes and biodiversity. Those attractions are important, but cultural tourism can add another dimension.
Khalkote could offer visitors an experience that combines Lake Sentani’s scenery with traditional cuisine, music, dance, crafts and community interaction.
The timing of FDS XV provides an opportunity to introduce this concept to a wider audience. The festival’s main event is scheduled for September 3 to 5, following the pre-event programme from August 25 to 29.
The planned presence of national leaders at the festival opening also gives the event additional visibility. Bupati Yunus Wonda has confirmed plans for Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to open FDS XV at the Khalkote tourism area on September 3.
That visibility could help promote Lake Sentani beyond Papua.
But international exposure will only have lasting value if visitors find a destination capable of delivering a consistent experience throughout the year.
That is where the permanent Khalkote concept becomes more important than the festival itself.
Conclusion
The decision by the Jayapura Regency Government to develop Khalkote Beach as a new tourism icon represents an effort to connect cultural preservation with economic opportunity.
The Festival Danau Sentani XV provides the immediate platform, but the larger objective is more ambitious: creating a permanent destination where traditional food, cultural performances, handicrafts, local businesses and Lake Sentani’s natural beauty can support one another.
The approach also offers a useful lesson for Papua’s wider development agenda. Cultural heritage does not have to remain confined to museums or annual ceremonies. When managed carefully, it can become part of a living economy that creates opportunities for communities while strengthening local identity.
The real test will begin after the festival lights go out.
If Khalkote remains active throughout the year, if local entrepreneurs gain sustainable access to visitors, and if the lake and surrounding environment are properly protected, the project could become more than a tourism campaign. It could demonstrate how Papua’s cultural wealth can support inclusive local economic growth.
For Jayapura and Papua more broadly, that may be the most important legacy of Festival Danau Sentani XV: not simply bringing people to Khalkote, but giving them a reason to return.