Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno encouraged Banjarmasin city to further develop its river tour potential.
Uno said that Banjarmasin has great potential to thrive its river tourism with the waterfront concept, such as Istanbul in Turkey or Bangkok in Thailand.
"Banjarmasin is a City of a Thousand Rivers, so we should use the river as veranda," said Uno when doing morning exercise with Mayor H Ibnu Sina and Deputy Mayor H Arifin Noor, Thursday.
In the efforts of developing river tourism in Banjarmasin, Uno said that the ministry will give its support for the Martapura Bungas program. This is a program initiated by the South Kalimantan Environment Agency to revitalize and increase the quality of river water.
"We support this because there are not many cities in Indonesia that promote river as their main attraction. So we will prioritize river tourism," he pointed out.
In terms of attraction, Uno said, Banjarmasin has an attractive floating market for tourists to visit. He said he will encourage the pattern of traveling by boat along the Martapura River and Barito River that crosses Banjarmasin.
"I will encourage travel patterns in Banjarmasin using boats to give lasting memories and experiences for tourists, that is the future tourism," he said.
Uno was also accompanied by South Kalimantan DPRD Speaker Sufian HK, Head of South Kalimantan Tourism Agency Syariffudin, and Head of Environment Agency Hanifah Dwi Nirwana.
Minister Uno also took his time to chat with floating market traders, visited the Konoko tourist village, and visited the Bekantan (proboscis monkey) Research Center using a speedboat.
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