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| Monday, 24 August 2015, 15:00 HKT/SGT | |
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Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Aug 24, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has expressed hope that the Karnaval Khatulistiwa, or Equatorial Carnival, held in Pontianak on Saturday and Sunday, the 22 and 23 of August, would become a new tourism icon for West Kalimantan.
He claimed that the event, which was held in conjunction with the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's independence on August 17, was a huge success. The Carnival marked Pontianak as the first city outside Jakarta to host a pinnacle event commemorating Indonesia's Independence Day.
Intended to build up the spirit of optimism of all regions within the archipelago to face future challenges, the carnival involves participation of all 34 provinces and 14 cities/regencies of West Kalimantan itself.
"Thank God, the carnival was a great success," Minister Yahya stated in Pontianak at the conclusion of the activities on Sunday. He pointed out that a large number of people, particularly the residents of Pontianak City and those from outside the city, had come to enliven the carnival event. "More than half the residents of Pontianak City flocked to the Kapuas Square last night to enliven the folk festivity," he noted.
The Equatorial Carnival comprised three events: land carnival, water carnival, and folk festivity. A parade of 1,500 decorated bandong boats, klotok boats, and other smaller boats filled the Kapuas River. The festivities continued in the evening at the entertainment stage with performances from popular national entertainers such as Slank, Ello, and a number of local artists.
Yahya is confident that the Equatorial Carnival 2015 would be able to boost the real sector business in Pontianak, even though it lasted for only two days. He expressed hope that Pontianak and West Kalimantan would greatly benefit from the event.
"We hope this event proves beneficial for Pontianak and West Kalimantan, with regard to tourism development and boosting tourist arrivals in the region," he remarked on Saturday. "I think West Kalimantan has immense tourism potential, which can be developed in the future. Moreover, Pontianak has already been declared a river tourism city in the development plan for 2014-2019." --Antara.
Topic: Sponsorship of Event
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News
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