100 major tourism events to be organized next year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As part of the government's efforts to reach its target of seven million foreign tourist visits in 2008, the Culture and Tourism Ministry plans to promote some 100 international events throughout the archipelago next year.

The ministry's director general for marketing, Thamrin B. Bachri, said that as a facilitator, the ministry would cooperate with local administrations to make the events a success.

"We will help the administrations to properly organize the events so that they will be worth seeing," Thamrin said Thursday.

"In addition, the ministry will also help publicize the events both inside and outside the country," he added.

According to the ministry, the international events will include cultural festivals, musical performances and sports events.

"For example, there will be a Tabot cultural and religious festival in Bengkulu, and we will try to attract as many as tourists as we can from Malaysia and Singapore as the primary markets as they are the closest to Bengkulu," Thamrin said.

In addition to cultural events, he said, tourists would also be able to attend sporting events, such as the Indonesia Open golf tournament and Indonesian International Diving Adventure event, both in Jakarta, and the World Karting Championships in Sentul, Bogor.

Other events expected to support the success of Visit Indonesia Year 2008 are the Arak Tabuik festival in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, next August; Tourism Funday in Anyer, Banten, in February; Papua Cultural Festival in August; and the annual Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta in March.

"Basically, these events are held annually, so what we are doing now is further promoting them and packaging them better," Thamrin said.

The soft launch of the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 campaign will take place Friday in the Balai Kartini, Jakarta, with a concert by top Indonesian performers, such as AB-Three, Edo Kondologit and Samsons.

The government will also conduct a public awareness drive as part of its efforts to highlight Indonesia's friendliness.

The domestic campaign will involve encouraging people to smile at tourists and help them in a friendly way, as well as establishing tourist police units in major tourism spots, simplifying licensing procedures, and working together with travel agencies, hotels and airline offices so as to help ensure the success of the campaign.

As for overseas promotion, the government will advertise on international television channels, the Internet, and through Indonesia's tourism offices abroad.

"Visit Indonesia Year is not a program of the Culture and Tourism Ministry alone, it involves all stakeholders and all citizens. So, its success will require their participation," Minister Wacik said Thursday.

Visit Indonesia Year 2008 will be officially launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Jan. 1. It is hoped that it will attract seven million foreign tourists to Indonesia's shores and earn the country some US$6.4 billion.(ndr)

Beach Games monument unveiled

The Jakarta Post

The Asian Beach Games committee unveiled a monument at Lumintang park in Denpasar on Wednesday.

Rita Subowo, chairwoman of the National Sports Council (KONI), said the unveiling of the monument marked the beginning of the country's preparations to host the first Asian Beach Games, which will take place in October 2008.

"This event will be the biggest beach and water sports competition in the world," Subowo said.

Designed to resemble the ocean waves, the colorful monument is a bit awkward in the city center, at the former site of the Badung administration office on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

The office was burned down during the 1998 riots.

The park will be re-named after Indonesia's first president Sukarno.

"Ideally, the monument should be built in a beach area like Sanur, Kuta, Nusa Dua. But we could not find the right place," said the head of KONI's Bali branch.

The seven-meter tall monument, which cost around Rp 800 million, was designed by local architects and artists using bold colors and traditional Balinese designs.

Netherlands, NZ to take part in Bali's kite festival

DENPASAR(Antara): The Netherlands and New Zealand will take part in Bali's four-day national kite-flying festival to be held from August 9 to 13, 2007, organizers said Tuesday.

"Two kite-flying organizations from the Netherlands and New Zealand will take part in the national kite-flying festival," committee organizer Nyoman Adnyana said.

He said that the number of foreign participants could increase because many foreign kite-flying lovers were interested to take part in the festival while holidaying in the Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali.

"While taking a vacation in the island of god, the kite-flying lovers could also show their expertise in flying kites," Nyoman Adnyana said.

At least 18 provinces in Indonesia have confirmed a plan to send participants to the festival which will be held at Padanggalak beach, Sanur, one of the most popular beaches in Bali.

GromSearch surf comp visits Kuta

The Jakarta Post

KUTA: The second-to-last event of the Rip Curl GromSearch series will be held at Kuta Beach on July 15.

The waves off Kuta Beach are a perfect venue for the under-17 grommet surfers, who are expected to go all-out to win the event in front of the many tourists who throng the beach.

This is the fourth leg of the 2007 season. Previous event locations included Cimaja, in West Java; Lakey Peak, in Sumbawa; and Medewi, in North Bali.

The final event in the series will be held in October at Keramas Beach, in Gianyar, with the winner of the under-17 category pocketing an all-expenses-paid ticket to Australia to compete in the World GromSearch Finals, which will take place at Bells Beach in April 2008.

The winner of the under-15 category will win a brand-new surfboard.

The current leader of the under-17 category is 14-year-old One Anwar from Lakey Peak, in Sumbawa, who is closely followed by Putra Hermawan from Nusa Lembongan and One's older brother Gazali Hamzah.

The GromSearch has been sanctioned by the Indonesian Surfing Championship (ISC) and the points collected over the series will determine who will be crowned the 2007 ISC Junior Champion.

Surf competition in south Bali

The Jakarta Post

DENPASAR: Oakley Indonesia will hold the third annual "Oakley Thump Pro" surf competition at the infamous razor-sharp reef of Bingin Beach, on the Bukit Peninsula in south Bali, on Friday and Saturday.

Internationally known to surfers for its hollow and mechanically perfect tubes, Bingin Beach is also a delight for spectators, who can view the action from beachside warung.

The event will begin early Friday morning with 60 of Indonesia's best pro surfers taking part, including Rizal Tanjung, Marlon Gerber, Tipi Jabrik and Dede Suryana, as well as four international surfers. They will be competing for their share of the Rp 30 million (US$3,300) prize and valuable Indonesian Surfing Championship (ISC) points.

Also participating in the event are wildcard Oakley International Team riders Adam Melling from Australia and Sebastian Zietz from Hawaii. There will be a Masters Division on Saturday for surfers 35-years and over currently on the ISC circuit.

An awards presentation will be held Saturday afternoon, which is to be followed by a BBQ and live performances by Bondan Prakoso, Fade 2 Black and DJ James Hendrix and a special appearance by the FHM 2007 Girl Next Door contestants.

The Oakley Thump Pro is a six-star ISC event, where points are awarded and tabulated at the end of the year to crown a champion in the Pro, Masters, Pro Junior and Junior divisions.

For more information log on to www.isctour.com.

Bali gears up for maiden Asian Beach Games

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Sanur, Bali

Indonesia is betting Rp 300 billion (US$32.97 million) that hosting the inaugural Asian Beach Games in Bali next year will provide a much needed tourism boost for the resort island.

National Sports Council (KONI) chairwoman Rita Subowo said here Friday the Rp 300 billion budget for the event would come from the central government, Bali administration and the private sector. The money will be used to build the necessary infrastructure and purchase equipment for the event.

The Oct. 18-26, 2008, beach games will feature 14 sports. About 5,000 athletes from 45 countries are expected to compete for the 200 medals on offer.

Among the featured sports will be beach volleyball, beach sepak takraw, paragliding, jet ski and body building. Events will be held in Sanur, Serangan, Kuta, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua.

Rita said Bali was appointed to host the event during an Olympics Council of Asia meeting, which cited Bali's huge popularity as a tourist destination. The next hosts will be Oman, China and the Philippines.

"It is an honor for Indonesia to host such a historical event. Bali is the perfect place for the games," she said, adding that the province has hosted numerous international sporting events.

The Bali administration has high hopes the event will help increase the number of foreign tourists coming to the island, which was hit by terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005.

Organizers have begun to promote the event through the "Look for the Beach Games" campaign.

Despite the preparations, Rita remains modest about Indonesia's medal target at the event.

"I just hope that by being the host, the athletes will be motivated to give their best shot and achieve something next year."

Bali to host Asian Beach Games next year

DENPASAR (Antara): Bali will host the 1st Asian Beach Games on Oct. 18 - 26 next year, spokesman of the event said on Monday.

"Some 5,000 athletes from 45 countrie`s are expected to take part in the event which will compete 13 numbers," Indra Kartasasmita told the press when socializing the event.

All the numbers competed will be held in all beaches in the island, including in Sanur, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta and Benoa, he added.

Among the 13 numbers are surfing, wind surfing, wood sport, diving, takraw, marathon swimming and traditional boat.