Tomohon

Tomohon is a landlocked city in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It covers an area of 147.21 km², and had a population of 91,553 at the 2010 Census, rising to 100,587 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 103,072. Tomohon was formerly a part of the Minahasa Regency in North Sulawesi, but it officially became a city separated from the Regency, inaugurated on 4 August 2003.
Tomohon is known for flower planting at people's homes. Nearby is the volcano Gunung Lokon or Mount Lokon and Mount Empung. Tomohon is also known for wooden-house production, palm-sugar production, vegetable agriculture, as a center of Christian Ministry, and as a student town.

History

Tomohon has been written of in several historical records. One of them was found in the ethnographic works of Reverend Nicolaas Graafland, written on 14 January 1864. He described a heart-capturing country on the Minahasa highland in Northern Celebes called Tomohon that he had visited in 1850. The development of civilization and the dynamics of development and social implementation from year to year made Tomohon one of the capital districts in the Minahasa regency. In the beginning, Tomohon was a district of the Toumbulu people located in northwestern Minahasa, which consists of Talete, Kamasi, Paslaten, Kolongan, and Matani. In 1880, the Sarongsong district was united into Tomohon, and Kakaskasen district was combined in 1908. In 1927, Tomohon was integrated into Manado as a district, and in 1935, Tombariri district was combined with Tomohon district under Manado. In 1945, Tomohon was separated from Manado and again became the Tomohon district with two subdistrict: Tomohon and Tombariri. During the Permesta between March 1956 and October 1961, some of the Tombariri was combined with Tomohon. In 1974–2003, Tomohon was a district under the Minahasa Regency.
In the early decades of the 2000s, people in some parts of the Minahasa regency bore inspiration and aspirations of the strategic environmental trends both internally and externally for regional expansion. Efforts at reformation and the implementation of regional autonomy had been accelerating the process of accommodation people's aspirations for the expansion of the region. Through a long legal process and mature consideration in order to accelerate national development for the welfare of society, then the Minahasa regency government along with the Regional Representatives Council of Minahasa Regency recommended the aspirations for the establishment of South Minahasa Regency, Tomohon and North Minahasa Regency; which was also supported by The Provincial Government of North Sulawesi. The formation of South Minahasa Regency and Tomohon was established by the Central Government by issuing the Act No. 10 of 2003 and the establishment of the North Minahasa Regency through Act No. 33 of 2003.
The establishment of the legislative institution of Tomohon came as election results of 2004, resulting in Tomohon Regional Regulation Number 22 Year 2005 about Regional Symbol and Regulations of Tomohon and No. 29 of 2005 about the Anniversary of Tomohon. Tomohon inaugurated the Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno on behalf of the President of the Republic of Indonesia on 4 August 2003.

Geography

Tomohon is located at 1°15' North and 124°50' East. Tomohon, formed by Law No. 10 of 2003) is in area, with a population of 100,587 inhabitants at the 2020 Census. In general, Tomohon is located on the main circulation route connecting Manado as the provincial capital and other cities in North Sulawesi. Tomohon is surrounded by Minahasa Regency, with the borders of the area are:

North: Pineleng and Tombulu District, Minahasa Regency
South: Remboken and Sonder District, Minahasa Regency
West: Tombariri District, Minahasa Regency
East: Tombulu and West Tondano District, Minahasa Regency

The geography of Tomohon is located in the Asian portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, flanked by two active volcanoes, those are Mount Lokon and Mount Mahawu. The area is mostly made of young volcanic rock, with a composition of andesitic and basaltic tuff, and is of a brittle nature and easily eroded. The material component of the volcanic eruption with a cool temperature increase the fertile soil, and for the people taking advantage to produces fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In the southern, there's a Lake Linow, a naturally formed crater from volcanic eruption. Around the lake, there are various geothermal manifestation such as hot springs, fumarole, and also mud pool.

Climate

Tomohon has a cooler temperature than Manado which is at a lower land nearby the sea. Tomohon is situated at an altitude of about above sea level, Temperatures in Tomohon in the daytime are between and at night. Tomohon has a tropical rainforest climate, with a significant amount of rainfall during the year even for the driest month.

Administration

The city area based on the Village Potential Data 2014 was formerly calaculated as being 147.21 km², but is now officially measured at 169.1 km². The city administration is divided into 5 districts and subdivided into 44 urban villages. The mayor leads the city administration. The first mayor of Tomohon was Boy Simon Tangkawarouw. Since 2005, city residents have directly voted for a mayor, and Jefferson SM Rumajar elected as the first definitive mayor.

Administrative districts

The city is divided into five districts tabulated below with their areas and their areas and their populations as at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the location of the district headquarters, the number of administrative villages or subdistricts in each district, and its postal codes.

Kode Wilayah	Name of District	Area in km²	Pop'n Census 2010	Pop'n Census 2020	Pop'n Estimate mid 2023	Admin centre	No. of subdistricts	Post codes
71.73.01	Tomohon Selatan	34.70	21,062	24,802	25,903	Walian	12	95431-95439
71.73.02	Tomohon Tengah	16.51	20,156	18,772	18,878	Talete Dua	9	95441-95445
71.73.05	Tomohon Timur	13.99	10,269	11,428	11,158	Paslaten Satu	5	95446-95449
71.73.04	Tomohom Barat	43.84	14,160	16,941	17,479	Woloan Satu Utara	8	95421-95425
71.73.03	Tomohon Utara	60.06	25,906	28,644	29,306	Kakaskasen	10	95411-95419
	Totals	169.10	91,553	100,587	102,724		44

Community based ecotourism

In general, Community Based Ecotourism is tourism that is managed by the community for the tourist destinations. With general tourism, tourist visits are often marketed and organised by private travel companies and government-protected areas where the bulk of the profits go to the private companies and government enterprises. In contrast, CBET is managed and run by the community itself, management decisions are made by local people and profits directly go to the community. CBET itself, is a part of sustainable tourism development, because it meets the needs of the present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled, while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems. In order for community based ecotourism to be successful, there are many questions that need to be asked and answered in the planning process through implementation stages. One problem of participatory approaches must be pointed out - what defines “community” and “local” in terms of participation? Communities are not free of conflict, nor they are homogeneous. This fact can complicate any development plans for local communities — communities must agree on representatives for decision-making. According to the Quebec Declaration on ecotourism, ecotourism embraces the principles of sustainable tourism. The following principles distinguish it from the wider concept of sustainable tourism:

Contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage;
Includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development and operation contributing to their well-being;
interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination to the visitor; and
lends itself better to independent travelers, as well as organizes tours for small sized groups.
Distinctive features

There are several colorful parks in the center of the city with various flowers. The local government of Tomohon City routinely holds an annual flower festival which is able to attract many tourists to come to Tomohon. Other tourism destinations include Lake Linow, waruga, Tinoor waterfall, Doahill, agritourism in Rurukan, wooden house craft center in Woloan, and amphitheater in Woloan.
Some other tourism destinations nearby Tomohon City are Bunaken sea park, Lake Tondano, Mount Klabat, Mount Soputan, and Kali Waterfall. The 'Visit Tomohon 2008' campaign promoted tourist visits Tomohon. Some of the agendas on Visit Tomohon 2008 were a cultural and music festival, flower exhibition, photography competition, fashion style, and a seminar on flower cultivation.
The city contains the Tomohon Extreme Market, a wet market known for selling exotic animals and wildlife. The market attracted criticism from celebrities and animal activists in Indonesia and abroad for the sale of dog and cat meat as well as slaughter methods used. Following a years-long activist campaign, Tomohon mayor Caroll Senduk signed a law banning dog and cat meat trading at the market in July 2023, and traders at the market agreed not to sell, slaughter, or traffic in dogs and cats. This market has been described as a "cafeteria for animal pathogens" and a "time bomb", because of the risk of zoonosis, similar to the early cluster of COVID-19 cases traced to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan.