Our weakness is that we organize good festivals but do not carry out enough promotions."
Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The Tourism Ministry is focusing on promoting the numerous festivals held in Bali to boost foreign tourist arrivals, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said.

"Our weakness is that we organize good festivals but do not carry out enough promotions. Therefore, our focus is now on promoting the festivals here (in Bali)," Yahya stated here on Monday.

One of the festivals that will be promoted is the "Sanur Village Festival" scheduled to be held from August 26 to 30, he remarked.

Yahya pointed out that the Tourism Ministry will conduct large-scale promotional activities for the Sanur Village Festival from August 15 worldwide, using various media platforms.

Moreover, he believes that the festival that attracts foreign tourists to the island is the Bali Arts Festival.

Held for a month, the event carrying Balis name ended in July.

Furthermore, the Tourism Ministry will support the promotion of tourism fests in other regions of Indonesia, as well.

Yahya explained that 80 percent of the advertising budget was allocated for branding and creating websites, while the remaining was used for sales activities.

However, he did not mention the amount the government allocated for advertising and tourism branding.

"As much as 80 percent of the budget is used for branding, while 20 percent is used for sales," he noted.

(Reported by Dewa Wiguna/Uu.A071/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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