Kotabaru, South Kalimantan (AntaranewsKalsel) - The Kotabaru Regent H Sayed Jafar stated the Katir sailing boat race in 2017 in Aru Bay, Pulau Laut Isle Sub-district, is an effort to preserve the cultural traditions of the region.
"In addition to entertaining the public it also become a tourist destination that can attract tourists from outside the region," said the Regent, Monday.
Sayed Jafar also hopes Katir Race can be as one of the cultural icons of "Bumi Saijaan" (a nickname of Kotabaru).
According to him, Katir Race is certainly not just a competition, but a motivation in growing the soul of sportsmanship and building fraternity amongst the community.
Regent hopes this race can be a unifying tool of society, especially fishermen, as well as to motivate fishermen to use environmentally friendly fishing tools.
It also efforts to preserve nature and promote katir boat as local tourist icon with national and international standard.
"I advise that in the coming years, Katir boat competition is continuously improved both the quality of organizing, promotion and participation of participants to become an international event," he explained.
According to the regent, the marine sector is still a priority development in Kotabaru, given the large opportunities in this sector that can still be developed to increase regional economic revenues.