The plan being prepared at the Jakabaring Sports Complex, Palembang will soon be realized with the help of the private sector, the Head of the Sports Industry and Business Development of the Indonesian Sports Committee of South Sumatra, Nirmala Dewi, said here Monday.
"This sports tour package provides the travellers with the feeling of being athletes, and allows them to indulge in such sports as shooting or rock climbing by paying Rp300 thousand," she said.
This idea emerged as South Sumatra is currently focussing on developing sports tourism since it has hosted national and international sporting events, including the 25th SEA Games in 2011, the Islamic Solidarity Games 2013 and the ASEAN University Games in 2014, she explained.
"We hope the sports tourism package will increase the number of domestic and foreign tourist visits," she opined.
The Jakabaring Sports Complex was built when the province was set to host the 15th National Sports Week 2014.
Thereafter, the sports complex area of 325 hectares changed in 2011 with the construction of international standard sport facilities, including an aquatic stadium, shooting range, and a tennis and an athletics stadium.
Indonesias sports industry is not just about games and competition, but it is a combination of lifestyle and tourism, an expert staff member to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Djoko Pekik, said.
To that end, the sports industry needs to collaborate with the tourism sector to grow, he added.
Earlier, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya appreciated the consistency of South Sumatra in developing sports tourism to boost the number of tourist arrivals.
Besides developing sports tourism, South Sumatra also has other potential tourist options, such as religious, culinary, shopping and historical tourism.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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