Kotabaru will be leading tourist spot near IKN Nusantara: Minister

S Kalimantan, June 4 (ANTARA) - Kotabaru District, South Kalimantan, which has 144 islands, will be a buffer zone and a leading tourism destination near the national capital (IKN) Nusantara, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has said. "Kotabaru will be an option because it has marine tourism, where domestic and foreign tourists will definitely come," he said while opening the 2022 Saijaan Cultural Festival in Kotabaru on Friday (June 3). He said that his ministry will design a travel map to develop tourism there. Meanwhile, Kotabaru district head Sayed Jafar welcomed Uno during his visit to the area. During his visit to Rampa Indah village, Uno was accompanied by Jafar. There, he signed an inscription on the launch of the Rampa Berkah Tourism Village. The ministry's officials also visited Siring Laut and took part in a parade of the ornate bangau boats. Uno also laid the first stone of the Siring Laut tourist area revitalization project. "We must work together to restore this tourism sector," he remarked. Meanwhile, Jafar lauded Uno's visit to his district. "The minister's presence is an honor for us, the community, and the Kotabaru administration," Jafar said. According to him, the minister's presence served as an encouragement and inspiration for developing local tourism. For supporting Indonesia's new capital Nusantara, the development of tourism and creative economy sectors is one of the government’s concrete actions to advance the economic sector, Uno said earlier. East Kalimantan, the location for the new capital, boasts several attractive cultural, natural, and artificial tourist destinations, the minister said.