This year, the festival is themed "the Harmony of the Spice Island" to promote tourism of West Halmahera (Halbar) District, North Maluku.
The FTJ will offer a unique and memorable experience, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy's Deputy for Tourism Products and Activities Organizer, Rizki Handayani, stated here on Saturday.
“Interestingly, this unique content can now be enjoyed online, thanks to innovation in the tourism events," Handayani revealed.
FTJ is one of the 10 best activities in the category based on adaptation and innovation, after being included in the Tourism Ministry’s Calendar of Events for three consecutive years.
"This event is also aimed at raising the potential of the spice islands to become a leading global tourist destination," she noted.
The 2021 FTJ will be held in a hybrid manner, and the public is advised to continue to apply health protocols.
On a separate occasion, Panita Fenny Kiat, the West Halmahera Tourism Office head, stated that the 2021 FTJ will feature a flagship event -- the Sigofi Ngolo ritual -- a traditional ceremony of cleaning the sea and sowing flowers off Babaua Island to seek blessings, so that the festival would run smoothly.
"Also on the cards is an interesting event called the Culinary Theater of the Seven Indigenous Tribes in Gamtala Village that offers culinary tourism education by displaying West Halmahera specialties accompanied by descriptions and live cooking," she revealed.
Additionally lined up will be art performances portraying the cultural wealth of the seven indigenous tribes of West Halmahera.
He remarked that a musical theater presentation will be held at the peak event, with the backdrop of Jailolo Bay "Sasadu On the Sea," which is the icon of the Jailolo Bay Festival. The event is expected to promote and boost the tourism potential through showcasing the natural and marine beauty of West Hamahera.
"In addition, the Jailolo Bay Festival can help to uphold the existence of West Halmahera as a spice archipelago in Indonesia," Sandiaga stated. He also invited the people in West Halmahera to harbor a sense of optimism and function accordingly to restore normalcy in the country’s tourism sector and the creative economy.
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Translator: Hanni Sofia, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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