Sulawesi joins tourism mart

UJUNGPANDANG, S. Sulawesi (Antara): South Sulawesi will take part in world tourism forums in Malaysia and France early next year, a local official said over the weekend.

Erwin Mansoer, the head of South Sulawesi's office of tourism, post and telecommunications said the forums were the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Malaysia in January, 1997, and the Sail Mandel in France in March, 1997.

Mansoer said the province's hoped to attract more foreign tourists.

Mansoer said the number of Malaysian visitors was increasing because of better facilities, including direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Ujungpandang.

He said France was one of South Sulawesi's main tourist markets and most other foreign tourists were from Western European countries.

The local office, in cooperation with the private sector, has intensified tourism promotion to its main markets in Europe and was also trying to develop new markets in Asia and the Pacific, he said.

The province was diversifying its tourism products, developing its tourist attractions and improving tourism services, he said.