CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVITIES ENLIVEN INDONESIAN TOURISM by Fardah

   Jakarta, Feb 8, 2016 (Antara)- Various regions in Indonesia have organized festivities to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year 2576, or the Spring Festival, which falls on February 8.

          Imlek, as the occasion is locally known, is the most important traditional festival celebrated among Chinese families.

          The population of Indonesians of Chinese descent is believed to be some 10 million, which is approximately four to five percent of the total population of the country, which has the largest number of Muslims in the world.

         Since 2002, the Chinese New Year has been marked as a national holiday on the Indonesian calendar, due to which all government offices, schools, universities, and companies remain closed during the celebration.

       Chinese prefer to spend the holidays traveling with their families, and this tradition helps invigorate Indonesia's tourism industry.

        At the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the Barongsai dragon dance and Wushu martial art performances were held as part of the Imlek celebrations.

        "This is a routine activity organized by the Soekarno-Hatta airport's management to celebrate national holidays, including Imlek. But, this year, it is a bit different, and everything is free of charge," the airport's Senior General Manager, Zulfahmi, noted in a statement.

       In Palembang, South Sumatra Province, Chinese temples, particularly in the 10 Ulu area, were cleaned to welcome foreign tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong arriving to celebrate Imlek.

         "The tourists will arrive in stages, until the end of the Imlek celebrations. In total, their number could reach 10 thousand," Aseng of the Dewa Pengasih (Loving God) Foundation that manages the 10 Ulu temple stated in Palembang recently.

         After Kemaro Isle, the temple is the second most popular place for tourists celebrating Imlek, according to Hendra, the foundation's spokesman.

        "Some 2.6 thousand lampoons have been set up in the front yard of the temple. Besides this, a boat has been readied to ferry pilgrims to Kemaro Isle," he revealed.

        Palembang is the most preferred destination for Imlek as the city is believed to be the place of origin of the Chinese ancestors in Indonesia.

        Some three million tourists visited South Sumatra last year, and the province has set a target to attract five million tourists this year.

        Palembang city, the capital of South Sumatra Province, has the potential to develop religious, culinary, shopping, and historical tourism attractions.

        The provincial capital shares a historical familiarity with other Asian countries, based on the fact that its population comprises people from various races such as Chinese, Arab, and Malay.

         A Chinese temple on the unique Kemaro Isle is located in the middle of Musi River. 
  On every Chinese New Year's Eve and Cap Go Meh, around three thousand visitors flock the island.  
   The Imlek celebrations are held for 15 days. Chinese Indonesians will celebrate the last day of the festival, which is known as "Cap Go Meh."
   In Jakarta, worshipers thronged the Dharma Bhakti Chinese Temple in Petak Sembilan, Glodok, West Jakarta, on the morning of Feb. 8.

         Melly, one of the Chinese religious followers who came to pray at the temple in the evening of Feb. 7, expressed hope that the biggest and oldest temple in Jakarta would be immediately renovated.

         She said Imlek this year would be observed in a modest way due to concerns over the current economic situation.

        The 1.2 thousand-square-meter Bhakti Temple was built in 1650 but had caught fire in March 2015, thereby ravaging 60 historical statues.

        In the meantime, the West Nusa Tenggara city of Mataram will this year host the international celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year to be held on February 20.

         Head of the city tourism office H. Abdul Latif Nadjib has forecast that over five thousand people from various countries and other areas of Indonesia would flock to Mataram to take part in the celebrations.

        "It is the first Lunar new year celebrations that have been internationally organized, and the city of Mataram is honored to host the celebrations," Latif noted recently.

        The celebrations will be highlighted by social activities such as a blood donation camp and entertainment events, including a circus brought in from China.

         Some one thousand paper lanterns will be lit along the street of AA Gede Ngurah Cakranegara, a Chinese town in the city where the celebration would be centered.

        Furthermore, similar to other major holidays, security measures have also been beefed up to secure the Imlek celebrations in various regions.

        In North Sumatra, the police launched "Operation Liong" to guard worshipers, spokesman of the provincial police Senior Commissioner Helfi Assegaf revealed.

        Every police officer has been tasked with monitoring the situation and detecting any security issue at an early stage, he affirmed.

        Security has been tightened in Chinese temples and at crowded public facilities.

        In West Kalimantan Province, the police have deployed personnel in 1.2 thousand viharas or Buddhist temples in Pontianak during Imlek.

        As part of the Liong Kapuas 2016 operation, the police officers have provided and ensured public safety during the celebration of the Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh in the province, according to Chief of the West Kalimantan Police Office Brigadier General Arief Sulistyanto.

        In Bali, Trikora Harjo, the general manager of PT Angkasa Pura I that manages the island's Ngurah Rai airport, stated that anticipatory measures have already been taken to deal with the influx of tourists from China.

        "We have tightened security and shored up services to cater to them," he affirmed.

        Several local tourists had made hotel reservations in Bali Island ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year and Balinese Galungan holiday, according to Executive Secretary & Marketing Communication Ibis Styles Bali Kuta Legian, Inesti Saraswati Dewi.

        During the Chinese New Year holiday, the hotel occupancy rate in the Indonesian island resort of Bali was estimated to increase by at least 70 percent, she noted.

        In addition to domestic tourists, thousands of Chinese tourists arrived in Bali aboard chartered flights of several airlines, including Garuda Indonesia, to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

       Tourism Minister Arief Yahya remarked that at least 65 chartered flights carrying 23 thousand Chinese from 11 cities in China had landed in Bali.

        "It seems that Bali has become the favorite destination for Chinese tourists. More than 114 million Chinese travel abroad every year," Arief affirmed.

       He attributed the success achieved in luring Chinese tourists to Bali to intensive advertising and sales by the tourism ministry's marketing team.

        Arief said he had instructed the provision of six thousand souvenirs for the tourists and facilities to entertain the visitors.

       The minister stated that currently, only 1.14 million Chinese tourists annually visit Indonesia, far lesser than eight million to Thailand.

        The tourism ministry is optimistic of receiving two million Chinese tourists in 2019.

        "For 2016, we have set a target of attracting 1.7 million Chinese tourists, and two million in 2019," Hari Untoro Dradjat, an expert staff of the tourism ministry, noted in Denpasar, Bali, on Feb. 7, while greeting some 400 Chinese visitors during an Imlek Festival in Bali.

        Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla, through his Twitter account, conveyed his greetings on Chinese Lunar New Year 2567, wishing for peaceful and prosperous festivities.

       "Hoping it is always peaceful, prosperous, and merry," Kalla stated, here, Monday.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 08-02-2016 15:13:39