The Dutch tourists looked happy as they were feasting their eyes on the procession by the end of North Sumatra’s annual Lake Toba Festival.

“It’s exciting! The bands’ performance is indeed entertaining,” said Rob, one of the Dutch visitors.

Thirty-four marching bands, mostly comprising students, highlighted the conclusion of this year’s five-day lake festival late October in Parapat, where thousands of local and foreign tourists packed the road leading to the Pagoda open stage.

Unfortunately, the event’s organizing committee didn’t prepare well enough for the overwhelming public interest by providing proper and adequate parking space, therefore many tourist missed the festival’s closing where Regional Representative Council Chairman Irman Gusman’s performed percussions.

For kids: Boys participate in a rowing competition as part of the Lake Toba festival. Various traditional and cultural attractions were presented during  the festival, along with sports contests like running, gliding, and X-Treme Lake Toba Trail Adventure, in which hundreds of participants from different provinces and abroad explored Parapat, Pematang Siantar and Samosir near Lake Toba for three days.

The new sports activities in this festival, while warmly welcomed by visitors, were described by local people as contributing very little to a sustainable tourism industry in Lake Toba, because most of the committee’s programs this year were not oriented toward the lake’s existence.

A Lake Toba community figure, James Sinaga, said he embraced the committee’s innovations but regretted the exclusion of some of the festival’s activities typically seen in the past.

“The festival has lost its soul, without Solu Bolon or a mass rowing competition in the lake. It used to be the icon of the festival,” he said to The Jakarta Post.

James Sinaga also noted long-distance swimming in the lake was missing from this year’s line-up of activities. Committee Chairman Parlindungan Purba claimed the Lake Toba festival had been a success this year, and had invigorated the local economy despite its shortcomings, which he regarded as normal for a big event.

“We wish to revive Lake Toba’s heyday through this festival,” said Parlindungan, adding this objective was in line with the theme adopted, “Renaissance of Lake Toba”.

To date, 31 annual festivals have been held in Lake Toba since 1979. Regional Representative Council Chairman Irman Gusman hoped that these festivals would help make Lake Toba an asset and great tourist magnet for people visiting NorthSumatra, especially the tourist zone around this largest lake in Indonesia.

For God: Women perform Tor Tor Tunggal Panaluan sacred dance during the Lake Toba Festival “Lake Toba has an amazing history so we can transform it a major asset that will attract visitors,” said Irman in his closing address.

According to him, Lake Toba has great potential for promotion all over the world.

It just needed all competent authorities to bring out its top potential as Indonesia’s, even Southeast Asia’s, biggest lake.

National Economic Committee Chairman Chairul Tanjung, who also attended the closing ceremony, said 7 million foreign tourists were expected to visit all parts of Indonesia in, consisting of 5 million visitors to Bali and 2 million to various other tourist spots, including Lake Toba.

Chairul expressed optimism about an increasing number of foreign tourists coming to Lake Toba in the future.

“We predict 30 percent of the target of 70 million foreign vacationers in Indonesia in 2030 may be visiting Lake Toba,” added Chairul Tanjung.

— Photos by JP/Apriadi Gunawan