Ambassador Of Panama Launds Cilegon Ethnic Carnival

CILEGON, Banten, May 2 (Antara) - Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to Indonesia Deborah Ho lauded the Cilegon Ethnic Carnival (CEC) that featured a fashion show and art performances from various ethnic groups in the country. "It is so nice to see so much cultural diversity here in just one place and to look at all the efforts made by the participants to showcase their costumes to the people around," she said after witnessing the fashion and cultural show here on Saturday. According to the ambassador, the carnival is a good strategy to attract both domestic and foreign tourists, especially considering the location of Cilegon, which is not too far from the capital of Jakarta. She expects the local government of Cilegon to hold such a tourism event more frequently to not only increase the number of tourist arrivals but to also improve the local economy. Cilegon has been known as the "steel city" for being the largest steel producer in Southeast Asia, with about six million tons of steel being produced each year in the industrial area of Krakatau Steel. In fact, the city in Banten Province has some tourist attractions, such as the Anyer Beach, Kelapa Tujuh Beach, Merak Island, Mount Krakatau, and Mount Anak Krakatau. Hence, the ambassador believed that the central and local governments should promote every tourism agenda in Cilegon more aggressively, so that the tourists will be informed and be interested in exploring the city. On the other hand, she admitted that developing a tourism area is not an easy task since it requires consistent and continuous efforts of the government and people. "Although I have just come to Cilegon, I have a lot to see, such as the Sail Krakatau and this carnival, which makes me not want to go (home). Those are the things that you should take advantage of by promoting them and encouraging the people to come here. I know it is a big task, but you have to do it because if it is not carried out, then how will the people be able to know about what Cilegon has to offer," the ambassador noted. The CEC 2017 is targeted to attract more than two thousand local and foreign visitors. Dozens of Indonesian ethnic communities, including in Cilegon, Tapanuli, Lampung, Sunda, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Bali, Papua, Serang, Minang, and Tionghoa, participated in the annual event that was held to commemorate the anniversary of Cilegon. In addition to the carnival, this year, the 18th anniversary of Cilegon will be enlivened by offering Sail Krakatau, an excursion package to enjoy the beauty of the Anak Krakatau Mountain directly from a ship.