Kuta carnival to promote Bali’s tourism

Themed "Heal the World", the 8th Kuta Carnival 2010 is aimed at making the world a better place to live, including its tourism and culture, event organizer Morgan Made Suartha said in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday.

"This is an international event which should be held annually to appreciate Bali as a tourist destination," he said.

Morgan, who is also a Kuta public figure, said the event which will be held along the Kuta beach from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, may be different from last year’s, even though its culture art performance would still be attractive.

A culinary competition involving local and international chefs will also be held.

Kuta Carnival, Morgan added, will be taken part by

Artists, spiritualists will take part in the carnival, Morgan said, adding that a creative Indonesia youth parade will also be presented.

"The culture carnival will remain the main program in the art performances, both traditional and modern," Morgan said as quoted by the Antara news agency.

Morgan further said this event will try to promote Indonesian tourism to keep Kuta safe and peaceful as a world tourist destination.

Made Supatra Karang, the carnival’s initiator, said the carnival was held for the first time eight years ago inspired by "Kuta Recovery" program after the bombing attack in Bali in October 12, 2002. It was meant to help raise the number of tourists to Bali.

"In this year’s carnival, we hope it will not lose its spirit of encouraging Bali`s tourism because of the tragedy several years ago," the tourism expert said.