TORAJA READIES TO OFFER UNIQUE ATTRACTIONS TO IMF-WB DELEGATES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 31 (Antara) - South Sulawesi's Toraja tourist resort region is gearing up to offer a unique experience to thousands of delegates arriving to attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) annual meetings in Bali in October.     The Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (Asita) has continued to strengthen coordination with the local governments of the districts of Tana Toraja and North Toraja in the face of the IMF-WB annual meetings.         Toraja, or also often called Tana Toraja, is one of the scenic regions comprising two districts in South Sulawesi. From afar, one can spot the jagged ridges of the hill stretching side by side along the slopes of the mountains.         Moreover, one can also enjoy the sights of valleys, with bamboo and sugar palms, and traditional houses with curved roofs among the paddy fields, beautiful and naturally carved and colored by the skillful people of Toraja.           Hence, Head of the South Sulawesi branch of Asita Didi L. Manaba remarked in Makassar on Saturday (Mar 31) that his side had met the governments of the two districts to optimize the various concepts or destination programs to be offered to members of the IMF-WB delegations to visit Toraja's tourism destinations.

TORAJA EXPECTED TO BECOME MAJOR TOURIST DESTINATION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 30 (Antara) - Well-known for its burial caves and preserved cultures, Tanah Toraja District in the South Sulawesi Province is bracing itself to become the country's major tourist destination besides Bali Island.          To introduce Tanah Toraja as an international tourist resort, the local government has been holding the Lovely December event for the last six years. This year, the Sixth Lovely December was held along with a three-day Toraja International Festival 2013 (TIF 2013).          Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu inaugurated the Toraja International Festival (December 29-30) in Tanah Toraja district.          The word toraja comes from the Bugis language to riaja, meaning "people of the uplands".          The Dutch colonial government named the people Toraja in 1909. Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colorful wood carvings.          Toraja funeral rites are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days, according to Wikipedia.          The TIF 2013 aims to further promote Tanah Toraja's preserved cultures, local traditions and tourism attractions, to make the 'Land of Torajans' into one of the country's major tourist resorts.          During the opening of the TIF 2013, Minister Mari Elka Pengestu stated that the government was committed to making Toraja the second major tourist destination in the country after the tourist resort province of Bali. It would serve as an international tourist destination attracting both domestic and foreign tourists.