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Southeast Sulawesi celebrates its anniversary with Halo Sultra 2017
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This photo shows the picturesque Bolilanga Island, part of Togean Islands, an archipelago in the gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. (Shutterstock/File)
T
o commemorate its 53rd anniversary, the province of Southeast Sulawesi is hosting the Halo Sultra 2017 event in the provincial capital of Kendari from April 23 – 27.
Halo Sultra was first held in 2008, back then called Kemilau Sulawesi Tenggara. Southeast Sulawesi Governor H. Nur Alam decided to make the provincial anniversary celebration a tourism event.
“In 2009, the name was officially changed to Halo Sultra,” said the governor.
Read also: Wakatobi attempting to lure tourists with 15 events throughout 2017
The word “Halo” is taken from Haluoleo, one of the kings that ruled the Konawe kingdom in the 17th century, while “Sultra” is a common Indonesian abbreviation of the province’s name.
“Last year, Sultra tourism grew by 19.5% to 22,380 visitors, consisting of 15,668 local tourists and 6,712 foreigners,” said the Tourism Ministry's Esthy Reko Astuti, who oversees national tourism marketing.
For this year’s Halo Sultra, the provincial government will have tourism and art exhibitions from April 23 – 27, the Sutra Weaving Carnival on April 24 and a food festival on April 27. Southeast Sulawesi’s tourism ambassador will also be inaugurated on the same day. 6,747 people are taking part in staging this five-day event, with the number of visitors targeted to reach 100,000. (asw)
