Caves potential tourist site

BANYUWANGI, East Java: Hundreds of caves left by the World War II Japanese army in Banyuwangi, East Java, have yet to be turned into tourist attractions, a local official was quoted by Antara as saying.

"It is regrettable, but I hope that they will (become tourist attractions) in the near future", said the head of the marketing section of the provincial tourism office in Banyuwangi, Siti Kamarukmi, on Wednesday.

The mountainous region of Banyuwangi is situated at the eastern tip of East Java covering an area of 5,782.5 square kilometers with 1.5 million inhabitants.

"From the cave at the Watu Dodol tourist resort one can see ships in the Bali strait," said Siti Kamarukmi.

She said hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists visiting Banyuwangi usually prefer to see areas of agro-tourism and seashores. "I hope that the caves can be cleared and (developed so that they) attract tourists," she said. (swe)