TOGEAN ISLANDS, THE PRIMA DONNA OF CENTRAL SULAWESI TOURISM by Fardah

Jakarta, Jan 9, 2017 (Antara) - Standing in splendid isolation in Tomini Bay, Central Sulawesi Province, Togean or Togian Islands are known for their scenic blue sea, white sandy beaches, impressive landscapes, amazing corals, abundant fish, and friendly people.

          Togean is rather a secret dive destination in an unexplored maritime area that has pristine waters. The islands are located close to the equator and are covered by tropical rainforest and have white sandy beaches.

          The Togean Islands in Tujo Una-una District comprise around 66 large and small islands, scattered along Tomini Gulf in Central Sulawesi. Togean, Batudakan, and Una-Una are the three main islands in Togean Islands.

          The indigenous residents of the islands are the Bajo People known as the Sea Gypsys, who live a semi nomadic existence and rely on fishing as their sole source of income. The beautiful islands are accessible from Gorontalo in the north and Ampana in the south.   
    Based on Central Sulawesi Governor's Regulation No. 35 of 2016, the province's main tourist destinations, include the Besoa and Bada Valley megalithic heritage sites in the Poso District, Lake Lindu, and the Matantimali mountainous area, known for their paragliding spots, in the Sigi District, Togean Island marine resort, and Sombori Island marine resort in Morowali District.  

    Besides this, Togean Islands have become one of the nation's key tourism destinations to boost foreign tourist arrivals in the country.

         According to Law No. 1 of 2014, Togean Islands have also been declared as a marine national park and offer several diving spots to explore.

          Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has declared Togean Islands as one of the nation's top 10 maritime tourist destinations in 2016.

          In fact, Togean is among the world's best diving spots to be found in Indonesia, apart from those in Raja Ampat, Komodo Isle in East Nusa Tenggara, Derawan in East Kalimantan, and Wakatobi, Gilir Air and Bunaken in North Sulawesi.

          Indonesia has been promoting its world-class diving spots internationally in order to attract more tourists and to meet its target of receiving some 20 million foreign tourists by 2019.   
    Hence, the ministry is promoting Central Sulawesi's marine, natural, culinary, and cultural attractions.

        Moreover, the Central Sulawesi provincial administration is aiming to draw more tourists to Togean Islands by improving the infrastructure of the tourism destination.

         The province will build several supporting infrastructure for boosting Togean Islands' tourism, Head of the Tourism Office of Central Sulawesi Siti Norma Mardjanu stated recently.

        The Central Sulawesi administration has limited funds for tourism promotion in 2017 but has focused on improving the infrastructure and facilities to support the tourism industry in the province, she explained.

         The tourism office, however, will promote the province's destinations through festivals and online advertising, she added.

         The provincial tourism office has specifically allocated Rp2.9 billion for Togean to improve the facilities and infrastructure to support the local tourism industry.

         The province plans to offer more means of transportation to and from Togean Islands, which receive some 50 thousand tourists every year.

        Besides this, an immigration office will be set up in Togean to facilitate foreign tourists keen on extending their stay.

        Meanwhile, Central Sulawesi has also planned an international cycling and tourism event called Tour de Central Celebes (TdCC), starting next year.

        Celebes is the former name of Sulawesi, one of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, situated between Kalimantan (Borneo) and the Maluku Islands.

        To showcase its natural surroundings, the Central Sulawesi administration plans to invite 1.5 thousand domestic and foreign cyclists to participate in the TdCC, to be held in September 2017.

        The TdCC route stretches 300 km from Tojouna-una District to Palu City against a backdrop of mountains, lakes, hills, rivers, waterfalls, and valleys. 
   The tour will start in Ampana and finish in Palu City, covering four districts and one city.   
   The cyclists will pass through the districts of Tojo-Unauna, Poso, and Parigi Moutong, the city of Palu, and the district of Sigi in 10 days.

        "Yes, Tour de Central Celebes is designed not merely as a sports event but also to show the world the natural and cultural beauty of Central Sulawesi, with the ultimate goal of attracting foreign tourists," Assistant II in charge of economy and development at the provincial administration secretariat Bunga Somba, said.

         He said annual activities, such as the Festival of the Togean Islands and the Festival of Lake Poso, will be organized in a number of districts to coincide with the tour. ***1***
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(T.F001/B/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 09-01-2017