F

oreign tourists remain keen to visit the cool-weather Karo regency in North Sumatra, despite the continued eruption of Mount Sinabung.

Tourist Tan Sin Kok of Malaysia said that when Mount Sinabung started erupting five years ago, it had initially deterred him from visiting the region.

'€œFrankly speaking, I was afraid to come here. Yet after reading up, I came to Karo and found out that the weather here was still cool and clean,'€ Tan told The Jakarta Post at Taman Simalem Resort on Sunday.

Tan has been visiting Karo alone since Saturday and said he had enjoyed witnessing the eruption, with Mt. Sinabung spewing pyroclastic flows.

'€œIt was the first time I'€™d seen a volcano erupting. The scenery was very beautiful. I saw it from the place I'€™m staying at, Taman Simalem Resort,'€ Tan said.

Another Malaysian tourist, Lee Guat Chun, shared the admiration of Mt. Sinabung'€™s beauty both during its normal condition and while it was erupting.

'€œMt. Sinabung is a beautiful volcano. When it stops erupting, I will come back to climb it,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Singaporean tourist Chan Mei Yin said that she had visited Karo several times since Mt. Sinabung started erupting. This time, she said, she had brought with her a group of 25 fellow Singaporeans.

Touring Karo, she said, was fun because the weather was cool and the view, including that of Mt. Sinabung, was beautiful. The fact that the volcano was erupting, she added, was no impediment.

'€œMt. Sinabung'€™s eruption is not dangerous because the volcano is located very far away from tourist sights in Karo,'€ she said.

Karo is located 1,300 meters above sea level and has a temperature of between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Taman Simalem Resort general manager Eddy Tanoto Sukardi said that when Mt. Sinabung started to erupt some years ago, Karo'€™s tourism had been hit very hard. Many foreign tourists postponed or even canceled their trips to Karo.

Yet as time went by, he said, Karo'€™s tourism industry had begun to revive, with increased tourist numbers in the area.

Eddy expressed his gratitude to all parties, including the media, for their participation in rebuilding tourists'€™ confidence to return to Karo.

Eddy also said that his office had carried out intensive marketing campaigns, especially in Malaysia and Singapore, to promote Karo as a secure tourist destination offering many new destinations, including forests, lakes and organic farming tourism.

'€œWe have seen a 20 percent increase in bookings from last month. Most of the visiting tourists come from Singapore, Malaysia and Jakarta,'€ Eddy told the Post.

Karo Tourism Agency head Dinasti Sitepu confirmed the increase in tourist visits despite Mt. Sinabung'€™s eruptions, marked by the numerous group meetings held in the regency.

'€œMt. Sinabung is located very far from tourist sites in Karo. When the volcano erupts, these places are not touched by either the pyroclastic flows or the volcanic ash,'€ he said.

Since an eruption in September 2013, Mt. Sinabung has never entirely stopped its activity. Thousands of residents moved away at that time, only returning home last month after the volcano showed decreased activity. The eruptions have killed at least 17 people and destroyed thousands of houses and hectares of farmland.