REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Tourism Minister Arief Yahya and Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi have both expressed the view that sports tourism must be the mainstay of efforts to promote the ten priority tourist destinations.

At the close of the international cycling race, Tour de Flores, held from May 19-23, 2016 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, on Monday, the two ministers underlined that sports tourism combines elements of fun and natural beauty, making these destinations very attractive to international tourists.

Sports such as cycling, marathon, triathlon and golf are very effective in promoting tourism.

The Tourism Minister revealed that the Tour de Flores 2016 attracted dozens of Chinese journalists from leading media houses in that country.

"They were fascinated by the natural beauty along the route of the race from Larantuka to Labuan Bajo. They will certainly put out some interesting reports in their media which will be read or watched by people in their country," Arief Yahya elaborated.

Tour de Flores is the first and the largest international cycling championships held in eastern Indonesia.

Other international media also reported the championship with interesting photos and videos.

"Next year, there will definitely be more foreign teams participating in the Tour de Flores," he hoped.

The marathon championship, Arief added, also attracts older as well as younger generations from around the world.

"They are not looking at becoming a champion, chasing the top prize or attaining the fastest pace. Instead, running has become part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to stay in shape," he stated.

Indonesia already has such famous marathon championship calendars such as Jakarta Marathon, Borobudur Marathon and Bali Marathon.

"If all these sport events are held in tourist destinations, then we can derive a lot of benefits," Arief concluded.

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