Jakarta, July 30 (Antara) -- East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), a province in eastern Indonesia, will promote its local culture, beautiful destinations and products through the annual 'Sail Indonesia' event.
To promote its local culture on this platform, NTT has organized an exhibition for small- and medium-scale businesses, which began on July 27 and will be held till August 4.
The exhibition is expected to help enliven Sail Indonesia, which is being called 'Sail Tomini' this year.
This is because the festival's main events will take place in Tomini Bay, the largest gulf of Indonesia that borders the three eastern provinces of Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi and North Sulawesi.
Head of NTT's Tourism and Creative Economy Service Marius Jelamu said that the exhibition was being held to introduce and promote the province's culture and products to those participating in the sailing event.
"Through the exhibition, our office will showcase the cultural richness of NTT to yachters and other participants of the Indonesian sailing festival," Jelamu told Antara in Kupang, the provincial capital of NTT, on Tuesday.
NTT is one of the provinces that foreign yachts taking part in the festival in Tomini Bay will pass by.
Numerous activities are scheduled to coincide with the festival, including the Surya Baskara Jaya healthcare operation, a village development movement, national seminars, a diplomatic tour, a yacht rally, a Tomini Bay research expedition, and media publications.
Being the largest gulf in Indonesia with an area of approximately six million hectares of natural and marine resources, Tomini Bay has great marine biodiversity. It has 1,031 hectares of coral reefs and a mangrove forest cover of 785.10 hectares.
The peak events of the festival will be held on September 19, at Kayubura Beach in Pelawa Baru village, Parigi Moutong district, Central Sulawesi.
Events of Sail Tomini 2015 in Parigi Moutong will begin when the Boalemo Festival in Gorontalo province kicks off on September 10.
Moreover, the upcoming international maritime event of Sail Tomini 2015 is expected to boost the development of the maritime industry in Indonesia's largest gulf of Tomini Bay.
Maritime industries that will develop along the shoreline of Tomini Bay after the festival will be related to tourism, fisheries, transport, trade, energy and mineral resources, telecommunications, creative economy, and services.
As one of the provinces that will receive foreign yachters, NTT hopes some 200 ships will arrive in the province during the events.
According to Jelamu, seven yachts carrying 35 participants of Sail Indonesia from various countries had arrived at Kupang's Tedys Beach in NTT.
He added that NTT hoped that some 150 to 200 foreign yachts carrying tourists arrive in the province for Sail Indonesia, an event that will give the province a chance to promote its culture and tourist destinations.
"I have asked participants to visit Komodo Island, which is home to a rare species of giant lizards, as well as the Riung Tourism Park, the three colors lake, and a number of new tourist resorts," Jelamu pointed out.
Furthermore, the regional governments of Kupang city and NTT are still waiting for some 44 other yachts to arrive.
"This indicates that till August 4, we can expect some 200 foreign tourists to arrive in NTT," he remarked.
Jelamu further noted that for NTT, Sail Indonesia was a chance to promote its culture, creativity and uniqueness, which are all important for the development of its tourism sector.
"If NTT develops well and is supported with professional human resources, its tourism facilities will be able to compete globally, increase foreign tourist arrivals and improve the welfare of its people," he affirmed.
Besides, the exhibition is being organized as one of the activities to promote NTT's potential, as participants of Sail Indonesia have been arriving since July 24.
According to the tourism official, the exhibition has some 80 participants, mostly small and medium businesses from NTT and other provinces.
This expo is the second of its kind to be held to promote NTT. Last May, the same activity was organized, for which some 240 foreign tourists visited Kupang as part of a tourism program.
"From June to September, there will be four tourism programs that will involve some 1,000 tourists," he pointed out.
Moreover, a number of foreign tourists who arrived in Kupang on Wednesday said that they were impressed and felt comfortable about the beauty of the city.
"This is my and my wife's first visit to NTT; to Kupang in particular. We are impressed with the beauty of the city and the hospitality of the local people," a Sail Indonesia participant, Dave, told Antara on Wednesday.
He added that the challenges they faced during their trip to Kupang were the giant waves and strong winds in the waters of NTT.
According to Dave, who is from the United States, the waters of NTT are exceptionally beautiful. He arrived with his wife in Kupang on Sunday, July 26, night and expressed interest in visiting the tourist resorts of the province, especially the land of Timor.
"If we have time, we will visit the tourist destinations in Kupang. We will see places and make a photo feature on the beauty of NTT," he affirmed.
Furthermore, Secretary of the National Committee of Sail Tomini and the Boalemo Festival Dedy H. Sutisna said that President Joko Widodo was likely to attend both events.
"The president will most probably attend the peak events of Sail Tomini in Central Sulawesi and the Boalemo Festival in Gorontalo," Sutisna stated during a coordination meeting at the office of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in Jakarta on Tuesday, July 28.
Based on information gathered by Antara, President Joko Widodo, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, cabinet ministers and diplomats will attend the two peak events of Sail Tomini.
***1***(T.A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 30-07-2015 19:02: |
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