Hopefully, with this festival, tourism will quickly rise and recoverManado, North Sulawesi (ANTARA) - The Bunaken Festival, which will be hosted until November 4, 2022, at Malalayang Beach Walk (MBW), Manado, North Sulawesi, is expected to have a multiplier effect on tourism businesses and the creative economy.
"That's what we expect: the community's economy can grow better and develop superior tourism so that North Sulawesi will be even greater," a member of the House of Representatives, Adriana Dondokambey, made the remarks in Manado on Wednesday.
She called the MBW tourist location beautiful and interesting and said it has become one of the newest and strategic destinations in Manado city because it connects the southern region to Bunaken National Park.
Moreover, the tourism sector of the province has been directly and indirectly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted.
Therefore, the government and the community have expedited many efforts to provide a stimulus to the tourism sector to help it recover faster, she said.
"This is in order to revive the tourism sector in this area. Even so, we must continue to pay attention to the health protocols," she added.
She said that Bunaken Festival is one of the 110 national tourism events included by the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry in the 2022 Kharisma Event Nusantara.
The festival will be hosted at three locations—MBW, Pohon Kasih Megamas, and Bunaken Island. "This festival has the theme of save, clean, and preserve," Dondokambey said.
A “Manado High Street Market” event preluded the festival. It was held from October 19–23, 2022, and involved players promoting North Sulawesi's creative economy products to support North Sulawesi tourism.
"Hopefully, with this festival, tourism will quickly rise and recover," she remarked.
On Wednesday, the Bunaken Festival featured a parade of National Defense Force ships, ornamental boats, private boats, tourism boats, and katinting (traditional boats), as well as a parade of kebaya and music.
On Thursday, beach cleaning, mangrove planting, hatchling release, coral transplantation, the inauguration of the Bunaken tourist pier, as well as fashion and bazaars will take place on Bunaken Island. On November 4, or the last day, Bunaken Zumba and Bunaken Fun Run will be held in Bunaken.
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Translator: Karel Alexander P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
