Visit South Sulawesi 2012

South Sulawesi Tourism Agency is calling on local regencies/cities governments to prepare their agenda for the Visit South Sulawesi 2012 event by the end of this coming December at the latest. “There is only one year left to prepare Visit South Sulawesi 2012,” warned the Secretary of South Sulawesi Tourism Agency, Yulianus Batara, in Makassar yesterday.

He said the regions that have prepared new tourism activities are Makassar, Gowa, Maros, Bulukumba, and Palopo. “We are still waiting for other regions to submit their the end of the year,” he said.

Yulianus said that they must it prepare well and all regencies/cities are asked to design activities that can attract foreign tourists. “The prioritized tourism activities must be related to local culture,” he said.
To support the preparation, the South Sulawesi Tourism Agency proposed a promotion fund on the revised regional budget in the amount of Rp 300 million. “I hope that the legislature approves it,” he said.

In addition, he said that the Tourism department will also cooperate with travel agencies in South Sulawesi and abroad.

Foreign tourists are expected to come from Europe, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France and also from Asia, such as China, Singapore and Malaysia.”Many tourists from those countries have visited South Sulawesi,” he said.

The Culture and Tourism Department has targeted 50.000 foreign tourists in 2012, higher than the 2010 target of 40.000.

The Head of Makassar Tourism Agency, Rusmayani Majid, said that Makassar has several excellent tourism agendas to support the Visit South Sulawesi 2012 program. “We had the Visit Makassar 2011, earlier than South Sulawesi,” he said.

One of the programs to attract tourists is the ethnic Chinese Cap Go Meh celebration. There are also the maritime activities, such as jet ski and sailboat races. “In total, there are around 15 tourism activities,” he said.

The Head of Wajo tourism, Jasman Juanda, said that the program they prioritize for Visit South Sulawesi Year will be silk weaving festival

It is chosen because Wajo is the biggest silk producer in South Sulawesi. Besides the weaving festival, there will also be a silk fashion show competition.

“There are more than 10 programs,” he said. Preparations are expected to be completed before the end of the year.