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Tomini Bay festival attracts domestic, foreign tourists
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A picturesque view of Bolilanga Island, one of the Togean Islands, an archipelago in the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he 2017 Pesona Teluk Tomini (Tomini Bay Charms) Festival that was held in Parigi Moutong regency, Central Sulawesi, came to an end on Sunday.
The nine-day festival that kicked off on April 1 started with an international marathon, the Equator 10km, which was participated in by runners from three countries. A Kenyan took first place in the competition.
Apart from the marathon, the event also featured music performances, a beauty pageant, a craft exhibition, a painting competition and a culinary festival.
One of the highlighted cuisines during the festival was lalampa, a traditional delicacy made of glutinous rice filled with cakalang fish filling and wrapped in banana leaf. Last year, this dish broke an Indonesia Museum of Records (MURI) record for having the largest number of participants cooking it.
(Read also: Lion Air connects two cities in Central Sulawesi)
“The aim of this event is to showcase how the Equator monument was used for an international marathon. Hopefully the participants would tell how wonderful the monument is when they go back to their respective countries,” said Parigi Moutong Regent Samsurizal Tombolotutu.
During the festival, the regent also commemorated the departure of several traditional sailboats from Moutong district and their arrival at Kayu Bura Beach, the venue for the festival’s finale. At the closing event, which was supported by the Tourism Ministry, a fashion carnival was held and attended by 100 participants, including foreign visitors.
Parigi Moutong Tourism Agency head Hamka Lagala said that the region welcomed a total of 383,587 domestic and 3,432 foreign visitors last year. This year, it has set a target to attract at least 400,000 domestic and 5,000 foreign tourists. (kes)
