Most districts in the province did not allocate funds to support the annual sports tourism event, Beni Wahon, head of the NTT tourism office`s tourist destination section, revealed here, Monday.
TdF was organized for the first time in Nov 2016 and for the second time in Dec 2017 to promote tourist destinations on Flores Island.
Meanwhile, the NTT administration has also canceled the implementation of Tour de Timor (TdT) 2018, earlier scheduled in December.
Wahon remarked that NTT Governor Viktor Laiskodat had sought a cancellation owing to poor preparations for this year`s TdT.
Cancellation of the TdT was confirmed earlier by Marius Jelamu, head of the NTT tourism office.
The government believed that local residents must be involved actively in the implementation of TdT, he remarked.
The Indonesian government has organized international cycling events at the national and regional levels to enable domestic and foreign participants to experience up close the country`s scenic beauty.
Among the sports tourism events are Tour de Singkarak in West Sumatra; Tour de Central Celebes in Central Sulawesi; Tour de Lombok Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara; Tour de Flores and Tour de Timor in East Nusa Tenggara; Tour de Moluccas in Maluku; Tour de Indonesia, Tour de Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua; Tour de Ijen in Banyuwangi, East Java Province; and Tour de Barelang in Batam, the Riau Islands Province.
East Nusa Tenggara is among the most ambitious ones, as it has two cycling and tourism events lined up annually -- the TdF on Flores Island and TdT in the western part of Timor Island -- that both follow the concept of Tour de Singkarak.
Reporting by Bernadus Tokan
Editing by Fardah Assegaf, Suharto
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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