The largest hotspot in Sumatra found in south

A helicopter extinguishes a land fire in Dusun Dua Muara Baru Village, Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra, Tuesday (8/13/2019). Five helicopters were deployed to extinguish forest and land fires in South Sumatra (ANTARA PHOTO/Mushaful Imam)

We have yet to receive any report on the impact of land fires on national tourism. Everything is running as usual,

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - A total of 260 hotspots were identified throughout Sumatra Island on Monday morning, suggestive of forest and peatland fires.

Analyst at the Pekanbaru Meteorology Station Nia Fadhila stated here on Monday that South Sumatra was found to contain the largest number of hotspots, reaching 97.

Hotspots were also found in Jambi, totaling 75; Riau, 57; Bangka Belitung, 13; Riau, nine; Lampung, eight; and North Sumatra, one.

In Riau, 22 hotspots were detected in Indragiri Hilir, 21 in Pelalawan, nine in Meranti, three in Indragiri Hulu, and one each in Bengkalis and Rohil.

Visibility was quite good in Pekanbaru, reaching seven kilometers; five kilometers in Pelalawan; four kilometers in Rengat; and six kilometers in Dumai.

In the meantime, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya had confirmed that the tourism sector remained unaffected by the fires engulfing the land and forest areas in several Indonesian provinces over the past few months.

After attending the commemoration of the South Kalimantan provincial government's 69th anniversary, Yahya pointed out that despite the raging fires, foreign tourist visits to different tourist destinations in the country remained unabated.

"We have yet to receive any report on the impact of land fires on national tourism. Everything is running as usual," he stated.

He acknowledged the efforts of firefighters in extinguishing the land and forest fires in a swift and more integrated manner.

"In the previous years, land and forest fires had disrupted the tourism sector. However, this year, the impact had yet to be felt," he added.