Bukittinggi will beef up services, tourist industry<\/p>\n
By Ridwan M. Sijabat<\/p>\n
BUKITTINGGI, West Sumatra (JP): This rapidly growing mayoralty
\nthat won the prestigious Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha award for
\nsuccessful development, will continue gearing up services in the
\ntourism industry to better its people's livelihood.<\/p>\n
Mayor Armedi Agus said the local administration is
\nintensifying infrastructure development to support the service
\nand tourism industries.<\/p>\n
\"The 25,000-kilometer-square mayoralty with a population of
\n85,600 has tremendous potential to develop the service and
\ntourism industries in the coming years,\" he told The Jakarta Post
\nafter receiving the Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha award from
\nMinister of Manpower Abdul Latief during a ceremony here last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
He said local and national businessmen have been building
\nhotels, entertainment centers, shopping centers, handicraft
\nindustry and travel bureaus to help develop the mayoralty's
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
At least 55 non-star hotels have been built in the town, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Many local people have also built home industries producing
\nhandicrafts and traditional garments for sale to domestic and
\nforeign visitors.<\/p>\n
The hilly town, situated around 90 kilometers east of the
\nprovincial capital of Padang, is surrounded by attractive tourist
\nresorts. It is bordered by the Anai Valley to the west, Mount
\nMerapi to the east and Japanese Tunnel in the north.<\/p>\n
The number of foreign tourists visiting the town has increased
\nalmost 300 percent from 127,000 during the fourth Five Year Plan
\n(Pelita) to 498,875 during the fifth Pelita, that ended last
\nMarch.<\/p>\n
The relative success in economic development has also
\nincreased the townspeople's annual per capita income by around 25
\npercent from Rp 978,000 (US$470) in the fourth Pelita to Rp 1.2
\nmillion in the fifth. The gross regional product increased from
\nRp 69.2 billion to Rp 96.8 billion in the same period.<\/p>\n
The mayor said the tourism industry is not only important in
\ntriggering the town's growth but also in creating new jobs.<\/p>\n
Work hard<\/p>\n
About the award, he said that the local people should not be
\ntoo proud because the mayoralty still lags behind in many ways.<\/p>\n
\"The people should continue working hard hand in hand with the
\ngovernment to make development succeed and raise their living
\nstandards,\" said Armedi, who is also an army colonel.<\/p>\n
The mayoralty has won numerous national awards since 1989 for
\nits success in regional development. This year it has won the
\nAdipura award for the sixth time for its cleanliness drive. It
\nhas also won several awards in the fields of cooperatives,
\ntraffic and information campaigns.<\/p>\n
Impressed by the numerous achievements, Minister of Manpower
\nAbdul Latief promised local community leaders financial aid for
\nlocal small-scale tourist entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\"I will approach Minang (West Sumatra) businessmen in Jakarta
\nabout establishing partnerships with local entrepreneurs,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The minister also promised technical and financial assistance
\nto develop potential industries next year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bukittinggi-will-beef-up-services-tourist-industry-1447893297",
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