PEOPLE THRONG INTERESTING PLACES ON X'MAS HOLIDAYS

By Andi Abdussalam

      Jakarta, Dec 26 (ANTARA) - After year-long hectic days, now is the time for a relaxation during this year-end holidays. People in many parts of the country like Java, Bali, Sumatra and Kalimantan are flocking at tourist destinations and other interesting places.

        Popular tourist destinations and cities are tidying up in an effort to attract both domestic and foreign visitors. Yogyakarta, for example, has prepared various cultural and arts attractions.

        The Culture and Tourism Office of Yogyakarta is making preparations to enliven the New Year festivities and attract visitors. "We are preparing various cultural and arts attractions to entertain tourists during the New Year festivities in five major tourist destinations," Head of the Culture and Tourism Service Dwi Suprayitno said here on Friday.

        He said that with the preparations Yogyakarta hoped to attract many more tourists to the region. The five main destinations include the Tlogo Putri Kaliurang, Gardu Pandang Kaliurang, Wisata Trumpon village, Prambanan Temple and Cangkringan.

        According to Suprayitno, the attractions will include the 'Kuntulan' religious art performance, Malay Orchestra, a fire crackers festivity, a 'jathilan' traditional arts performance and the 'uba rampe'(crop yields) ritual procession.

        On Thursday, about 8,000 holidaymakers flocked to Yoyakarta's 'Parangtritis' beach in the south coast and the number is expected to increase by about 50 percent on the eve of the Islamic New Year on Sunday night, beach coordinator Harianto said.

        Most of the holidaymakers during Christmas came to the beach by motorcycles and cars from outside Yoyakarta, such as Surabaya, Jakarta, Semarang, Solo and Klaten.

        He said the number of tourists who thronged the beach in the morning of Christmas day reached 4,254 while those who entered the area in the evening 3,469.

        Harianto said that the visitors were expected to increase by about 50 percent on the eve of the Islamic New Year of 1 Muharram, which falls on Monday.

        In Bali, Indonesia's tourist resort province,the roads in the city of Denpasar, were almost deserted on Friday as people flocked to recreation centers.

        Economic activities were reduced as many shops, offices, garages or even restaurants were closed for this weekend and New Year holidays.

        Only a limited number of offices and service companies were still open on Friday. Roads in commercial districts in Denpasar such as on Teuku Umar, Imam Bonjol, Diponegoro, Hasanudin streets, which are usually packed with vehicles were also abandoned.

        Main roads such as Ngurah Rai Bypass from the eastern area of Sanur Beach to Nusa Dua resort were also deserted. The lonely scene was also observed in the Ida Bagus Mantra Bypass which stretches along the Bali eastern coast to Karangasem.

        On the other hand, roads leading to Kuata Beach, a favorite tourist destination, were however jammed. Most visitors were domestic holidaymakers from Java.

        Visitors have been flocking Bali since Thursday, causing rooms of small and large hotels almost fully occupied in the tourist resorts of Sanur, Nusa Dua, Kuta, Jimbaran, Ubud and Denpasar.

        High hotel occupancy rates also happened at hotels in Anyer and Carita beaches, Banten province, in the western tip of Java. Secretary of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (IHRA) for Banten province, Agus Santoso, said that the occupancy rates of hotels along the Anyer and Carita beaches had reached an average of 80 percent.

        "We have received confirmation from hotel owners that about 80 percent of their rooms were occupied. Some even said that their rooms were all occupied," he said. He said that rooms at Nuansa Bali hotel, which had 110 rooms, for example, had been 100 percent booked. Likewise, Sol-Elite Marbela Hotel public relations officer Shinta Islasari said her hotel also had been fully booked for the December 30 - January 2 holidays.

        Santoso said that the increase in the number of visitors to Anyer and Carita beaches was due to Christmas, school and New Year holidays

        Aside from Java and Bali, holidaymakers also thronged tourist sites in Sumatra. A large number of holidaymakers from various regions in Sumatra, such as Riau, Jambi and Bengkulu visited a number of tourist destinations in the city of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

        Sources here said that the tourists came to Bukittingi by car. They crammed the 'Jam Gadang' (Grand Clock) tourism area. The Jam Gadang area includes a site of shopping tourism and culinary centers where domestic and foreign tourists could enjoy special local dishes and purchase souvenirs. Pasar Atas (upper market) market located in this area sells various typical embroidered clothes as well as head scarves and other items.

        Tourist Rizki of Riau said he was having a holiday in Bukittinggi while paying a visit to his relatives in Payakumbuh city in Christmas and New Year holidays.

        Besides Bukittinggi, West Sumatra also has other main tourist destinations such as the Mandeh resort area, the new panorama resort, the Danau Kembar resort (twin lakes), the Mentawai marine tourist spot, the Harau valley and the Puncak Lawang resort.

        In the meantime, holidaymakers in South Kalimantan preferred the so called 'religious tourism.' Hundreds of holidaymakers from South Kalimantan province are taking advantage of the long Christmas, New Year and school holidays to conduct a religious trip to various religious tourism destinations.

        Chairperson of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Association (Asita) for South Kaliantan Armistiany said that many South Kalimantan residents took the opportunity of the long holidays to conduct religious trips to a number of destinations in Java.

        "They visited the tombs of 'Wali Songo' (nine Muslim saints) . The local people called it 'Tour Wali Songo'" Armistiany said. Over the last several days many "Tour Wali Songo" groups have left Banjarmasin for Java. Each group consisted of 100 members and led by a Muslim cleric.

        Armistiany, who is also owner of PT Barito Perkasa Travel & Tour, said many people from South Kalimantan had a keen interest in this type of holidaying. Air tickets of a number of airlines had sold out until end of the year. (T.A014/HNG/A/H-YH)  26-12-2008 22:34:23