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Singaporean tourists flocked to Lake Toba
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The picturesque Lake Toba, as seen from Samosir Island in North Sumatra. (Shutterstock)
T
he first batch of Singaporean tourists who signed up for the special promotional tour package by the Tourism Ministry and North Sumatra provincial administration had finally arrived in Lake Toba.
“These tourists are participants of Lake Toba Promotional Tour Packages by Tourism Ministry, North Sumatra Provincial Administration, eight regencies in Lake Toba, locals and industry players in Lake Toba,” explained Lake Toba Authority Board director, Arie Prasetyo.
The group stayed for four days and three nights, trekking the waterfall, joined fruit picking and witnessing Gorga engraving demo. They also visited tourist sites such as Lake Toba and Eden Park 100. The latter is an ecotourism site located in Toba Samosir regency.
On their final night, there was a Cultural Night event being held at Batak TB Silalahi Museum. The event was hosted by Toba Samosir regional administration and North Sumatra provincial administration.
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They flew back to Singapore on Nov. 2 at 10:15 a.m. A few hours later, the second batch of Singaporean tourists arrived in Silangit International Airport at 1:30 p.m.
The airport itself welcomed its first international flight by Garuda Indonesia from Singapore on Oct. 28. To commemorate this occasion, 10 special promotional tour packages were offered for Singaporean tourists to travel to Lake Toba.
Dates for the trips are available from Oct. 28 until Nov. 21 and packages are divided into three categories: 3D2N (three days and two nights) priced at S$299 (US$218), 4D3N priced at S$349 and 5D4N priced at S$489 with an additional destination to Medan.
“In Singapore, there are 15 million international tourists and five million Singaporeans. The travel duration is only 55 minutes from Silangit,” said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.
Moreover, the ministry that also seeks to attract Malaysian and Chinese tourists is offering incentives for airlines that open a new route from China to Silangit International Airport.
China is considered a big market for the ministry as the country has up to 120 million of outbound travelers. (kes)
