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Lake Sentani a forgotten gem: Wacik
Lake Sentani, the largest lake in Papua province, deserves to be listed as one of the country's top tourism attractions, Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said Thursday
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Lake Sentani, the largest lake in Papua province, deserves to be listed as one of the country's top tourism attractions, Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said Thursday.
"I will include the lake as one of the country's leading tourism sites and ask the tourism directorate general to add it to promotional brochures as part of the Visit Indonesia 2008 campaign," Wacik said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the Lake Sentani Festival in Jayapura. This annual event will run through June 21.
Wacik, on his first ever visit to Papua, said he was "amazed" by the lake and its surroundings, which he said he could see from the air before his plane landed at Sentani Airport.
"I regret not coming to Papua earlier to see the beautiful Lake Sentani. I've seen photographs of it, but what I see now at first hand is really beautiful," he said.
Wacik went on to encourage Indonesian youths to visit tourist sites across the country, including Lake Sentani, as part of the ministry's "Know your country, love your country" program.
The Lake Sentani Festival is featured in the province's tourist calendar, as are the Baliem Valley Festival, the Asmat Cultural Festival and the Kamoro Festival.
Wacik said his ministry expected 7 million overseas tourists to visit Indonesia, bringing in Rp 61 trillion (approximately US$670 million) in revenues.
"We earned Rp 50 trillion from the arrival of 5 million overseas visitors last year," he said.
"We will improve on the Lake Sentani Festival this year by including 1,600 traditional Isolo dancers who will perform six dances on boats."
At least 24 dance troupes from 24 villages located around the lake are expected to take part in the festival. The event will also highlight various local handicrafts such as wood paintings and shell ornaments.
Jayapura Regent Habel Melkias Suwae said the 110 hectare Lake Sentani was the biggest lake in the province and a key part of life for thousands of villagers in the dozens of villages dotting its shores.
Lake Sentani was also the focus of a visit to Papua in May by eight foreign ambassadors.
