In the company of West Sulawesi Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh, the minister opened the four-day Kemilau Sulawesi festival from July 9 to 12, 2011 to promote the tourism potential of six provinces on the island of Sulawesi.
West Sulawesi province hosts the festival which is to be attended by thousands of people and the tourism business actors from five other provinces namely North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi.
The event will be enlivened with various art performances, cultural carnival, and cultural exhibition to attract more domestic and foreign tourists to visit the provinces in Sulawesi island.
In his opening address, Agung Laksono said the development of tourism sector in Indonesia has been able to reduce the unemployment rate 7.8 percent this year.
"The tourism sector in Indonesia has a very significant role in the development of economy and people`s welfare because it has been able to reduce unemployment rate to 7.8 percent this year," Agung said.
He said that besides reducing the unemployment rate, the tourism sector was also able to promote the country`s economy by increasing gross domestic product of about 7.6 percent.
According to the people`s welfare minister, the tourism sector in the country was as well able to spur an increase in exports of Indonesia`s natural resources of around 7.5 percent to other countries.
Since the tourism sector can bring prosperity to the nation and speed up the national development, Agung said it should also be developed intensively at regional levels.
"Therefore the Kemilau Sulawesi Festival to promote art and cultural assets is expected to be an important momentum to step up the tourism sector in Sulawesi in specific and in Indonesia in general," Agung said.
Agung admitted that Sulawesi has abundant and potential natural resources and tourism assets that have to be developed and promoted intensively.
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Editor: AA Ariwibowo
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
