IDUL FITRI HOLIDAY SEASON OFFERS BOOST TO DOMESTIC TOURISM by Fardah

Jakarta, June 29, 2017 (Antara) - The current Idul Fitri Islamic holiday season has helped boost Indonesia's domestic tourism, among other things, thanks to the government's policy to grant additional holidays, after Muslims celebrated Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, on June 25-26.   
    President Joko Widodo had signed Presidential Decree No. 18 of 2017 on joint leave for extra holidays during the Idul Fitri celebration.

         The joint leave enables employees to avail additional holidays on June 23, 27, 28, 29, and 30 in addition to the weekend on July 1-2.

         Most Indonesian Muslims follow the tradition of celebrating Lebaran in their hometowns with their families. They usually also spend time with their families to visit recreational centers and tourist attractions during the holiday.

         In Sabang, located on Weh Island, Aceh Province, some three thousand domestic tourists, mostly from North Sumatra and Java Island, enjoyed the white sandy beaches located in the northernmost Sumatra Island.

         The number of domestic tourists visiting Sabang had increased since the second day after Idul Fitri, according to Abdurani, a local official of Balohan Seaport, Sabang.

         Five boats comprising three speedboats and two Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries are being operated to transport visitors to and from Sabang, he said.

         Each speedboat makes five daily trips, while a Ro-Ro ferry makes four trips.

         Krisnani Murnilawati, chairperson of the Indonesian tourist guide association, said more than 200 tour guides are deployed to help accompany tourists visiting Sabang, which has been designated by the central government as a national tourism strategic zone.

         "There are over 200 tour guides on Weh Island. They know the details of the tourist attractions on Weh Island, and most of the guides speak foreign languages," he pointed out. 
    Sabang is the largest town on Weh Island, which is located in the northwesternmost part of Indonesia and is known for its beaches and jungle.

         Weh Island is situated in the Andaman Sea, and the waters in Sabang are a meeting point for the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca.

         The island is popular for its beautiful underwater ecosystem and diving sites, as it has a variety of coral reefs as well as white sandy beaches.

         The extremely rare megamouth shark -- one of the three known filter feeding shark species in the world -- has been spotted in the area.

          Due to the abundance of marine life around the island, the Indonesian government has declared the area around the island as a wildlife protection area.

         In southern Sumatra, a total of 5,272 holidaymakers visited the Way Kambas National Park located in East Lampung District, Lampung Province.

         "The number of visitors is more than that on the previous day, and is expected to increase further on Wednesday and Thursday," Subakir, director of the Way Kambas National Park, said in East Lampung.

         Some 1,285 people visited the park on Monday. The visitors were entertained by tamed and well-trained elephants. Some of them enjoyed an elephant ride by paying Rp20 thousand (some US$1.5) per person.

         Holidaymakers also thronged other tourist attractions in Lampung, such as the Kerang Mas beaches, and Lake Kemuning located in Bandar Sribhawono.

         Meanwhile, in central Java Island, most of them visited the Gunung Kidul beaches, and some went to see the Pindul cave and Stri Getuk waterfall, Hari Sukmono, secretary of the Gunung Kidul tourism office, said.

         The number of visitors increased significantly from some 35 thousand on the previous day, he said.

         During the current Idul Fitri or Lebaran holiday season, the number of visitors is expected to peak on Thursday.

         The Gunung Kidul tourism office expects to receive a total of at least 250 thousand visitors during the current holiday season, he added.

         Gunung Kidul has several natural tourist attractions, such as the Ngrancah waterfall in Ngleri Village, along with the pristine beaches of Gesing, Ngrenehan, Ngobaran, and Baron, in addition to Krakal, Sunduk, Watu Lawang, Drini, and Sepanjang.

         On Monday, the second day of Idul Fitri, or locally called Lebaran, a total of 39,554 tourists visited these tourist attractions, generating revenue amounting to Rp305,614 million.

         Indonesia has set a target of luring 20 million foreign tourists and 275 million domestic tourists by 2019.

        In coordination with regional governments, Indonesia's tourism ministry scheduled a list of traditional festivals, sport tourism and other tourism activities this year as part of efforts in complying with targets set in the sector.

        Indonesia saw increasing foreign visitor arrivals in the last few years with more than 12 million recorded in 2016. The nation has set targets to see 15 million ones this year. ***1***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 29-06-2017