D

espite the continued volcanic activity of Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, tourist arrivals in the area have risen following the revival of a four-day fruit and flower festival, which wound up on Sunday.

The festival, centered in Berastagi city, attracted tourists and increased revenue in the regency.

Berastagi Tourism and Culture Office head Dinasti Sitepu said the four-day festival had benefited tourism in the regency, with arrivals spiking during the event.

'€œThe rate of tourist arrivals has increased by 50 percent during the festival. This proves that tourism has not been killed off by the continued heavy volcanic activity,'€ Dinasti said on Sunday.

The festival, which was first held in Karo in 2001, constitutes part of the regency administration'€™s attempts to promote tourism.

Given the region'€™s current tourism slump, Dinasti said, it was the right time to revive the routine iteration of the festival in order to boost tourist arrivals and support fruit and flower sellers in Karo, who have been severely affected by the eruptions of Mt. Sinabung.

'€œFruit and flower sellers have been suffering from the impacts of the eruptions for a while now. We hope that the festival will be a boon for them, at the same time as boosting tourist arrivals,'€ he said.

Mt. Sinabung, standing at 2,460 meters, was inactive for centuries before erupting in August 2010. Three years later, it erupted again and has never entirely stopped since then, forcing residents living near the volcano to be constantly prepared for evacuation should volcanic activity escalate suddenly.

The eruptions have also claimed more than a dozen lives and destroyed thousands of houses and hectares of farmland. The Mt. Sinabung area is well-known as a center of vegetable and orange production, supplying other regions in the province.

Berastagi fruit-seller Martha Matondang applauded the revival of the festival, saying her income had shot up as a result.

'€œDuring the festival, my income can reach up to Rp 3 million [US$220] daily, far more than on normal days,'€ said Martha, adding that visitors to the festival mostly bought passion fruit, mangoes and kesemek, also known as Japanese persimmon.

Local souvenir and clothing seller Landen Pasaribu concurred, saying the festival helped increase the income of traders in the regency.

'€œOn a normal day I'€™m lucky to earn Rp 500,000, but during the festival, my income skyrocketed, and I was able to take home up to Rp 3 million [a day],'€ Landen said joyously.

Meanwhile, Ismail Haska, a visitor from Aceh, expressed his admiration for the enthusiasm of the people of Karo to hold the festival as a way to counteract the affects of the volcanic eruptions. Ismail added that he enjoyed the festival, as it allowed him to learn about local agricultural produce.

'€œThe event features various kinds of fruits and flowers grown by Karo farmers. More people should be told about this,'€ he said while attending the festival in Berastagi on Sunday.