"Initially 43 teams had confirmed their participation, but several teams later informed their cancellation," Suryadi, head of the Tanjungpinang tourism office, said here on Saturday.
The 39 teams joining the race comprised three teams from Malaysia, 13 teams from provinces outside Riau Islands, and the remaining from districts and towns in Riau Islands.
The teams from Malaysia represented the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office, the Malaysian Royal Police, and the Johor Bahru Mayor's Office.
He hoped that Brunei Darussalam and the Czech Republic would participate in the dragon boat race in 2020.
Brunei cancelled its participation this year. Czech expressed its interest but requested for a specific boat, and the organizing committee of the Tanjungpinang international dragon boat race planned to meet the request next year.
Suryadi said some eight thousand tourists including several tourists from China were expected to watch the dragon boat race this year.
This year's annual dragon boat race is the 18th organized by Tanjungpinang.
The 17th Tanjungpinang international dragon boat race was organized on Oct 19-21, 2018 in the iconic Carang River in Tanjungpinang on Bintang Island.
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Translator: Nikolas Panama, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
