Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Tanjung Lesung Special Economic Zone for tourism in Banten Province was packed with tens of thousands of tourists during the long holiday this week.

The crowd in Tanjung Lesung during this long holiday exceeded the other tourist attractions in the country, Ida Irawati, an official of Tourism Ministry who was assigned to escort Tanjung Lesung tourism resort, remarked Saturday.

The number of tourists who visited Tanjung Lesung and surrounding had reached tens of thousands, as all hotel rooms in the area were fully booked, Irawati said.

Situated on the western coast of Java island in the district of Pandeglang, Banten province, the Tanjung Lesung resort will soon become Indonesias new hub for business activities and a novel gateway for tourists.

The development of the Tanjung Lesung special economic zone will be accelerated as part of the local governments program to expedite the transformation process, Budiharto Setiawan, the chief representative of Bank Indonesia Banten, remarked.

"Besides accelerating the development of the Tanjung Lesung special economic zone, the government of Banten province is also increasingly building connectivity infrastructure," Setiawan remarked.

In view of the future economic challenges, Bank Indonesia believes that transformation is required to make Indonesias economy better, he stated.

Setiawan highlighted the need to transform Indonesia from a consumer-oriented country to a nation supporting production, from an importer to an exporter, and from a producer of raw natural resources to a nation that produces products of higher added value.

To this end, transformation must be supported by an increase in the industrialization process in the creative industry sector, tourism industry, and the maritime industry being adopted by Banten to develop the Tanjung Lesung special economic zone for tourism, Setiawan emphasized.

Inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in February 2015, the Tanjung Lesung Special Economic Zone will be developed into a maritime-based, world-class integrated tourism area in Indonesia.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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