During the first six months of 2023, the province enjoyed a significant increase of 73.7 percent in domestic tourist visits compared to the year-ago period, Head of Tourism Marketing at the office Restiawan Baihaqi informed in Samarinda on Monday.
"Nationally, during the same period, a total of 433.57 million domestic tourists contributed to the tourism sector, thereby translating to an increase of 12.6 percent," he added.
Baihaqi said that East Kalimantan is attracting tourists with its diverse fauna, rainforests, as well as cultural tourism activities, adding that each of its cities and regions offers a unique culture.
In addition, the discourses on IKN have been drawing both domestic and international tourists to the region, where they can combine business trips with visits to several tourist destinations, he pointed out.
Furthermore, he said that the surge in tourist visits to East Kalimantan has been the result of the heightened promotional activities being conducted by his side in various regions, including Bali and Jakarta.
According to him, the tourism office is adopting the system of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) in efforts to get more tourists to visit East Kalimantan.
"We are consistently conducting MICE activities in order to stimulate the development of tourist destinations since we believe that such activities are instrumental in creating job vacancies, increasing local communities' income, and also drawing investment," he elaborated.
He then expressed optimism that the province would see a further increase in domestic and international tourist arrivals on August 17, 2023, when communities in towns and villages will hold various events to mark the 78th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day.
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Translator: Tegar Nurfitra Putra Rofian
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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