Many European, American Tourists Visit Raja Ampat

Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA Sulsel) - About 95 percent of the tourists visiting Raja Ampat were foreigners, mostly from Europe and America, a local official said.

"They were mostly from Europe and America," Yusdi Lamatenggo, the head of the Raja Ampat tourism and creative economy office, said here on Friday on the sidelines of the Garuda Travel Fair 2014.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Raja Ampat was on an average 15 thousand annually, while the number of domestic tourists was about five thousand per year.

The Raja Ampat district`s target is to increase the number of tourist arrivals by 50 percent in 2014, from 2013.

The tourism office had promoted the Raja Ampat event in various travel fairs to attract more tourists.

Raja Ampat, a district located in the West Papua province, is known as the location of one of the world`s best diving spot. Lamatenggo, however, said in the future his office will promote the geo-parks in the district.

The area has 1,320 fish species; 75 percent of the world`s coral species, 10 times the number of corals in the Caribbean; five species of rare turtles; 57 species of mantis shrimps; 13 species of marine mammals; and 27 species of rare fish.

In June this year, the Indonesian government will organize the Sail Raja Ampat as part of its annual international maritime event to bring the sailing contest`s participants and guests to the most exotic location in the country.

The name Raja Ampat or "Four Kings" is derived from a local myth. It has four major islands: Waigeo, Salawati, Batanta, and Misool, which are home to ancient rock paintings.

In total, the Raja Ampat district has about 1.7 thousand islands, including the unoccupied and beautiful island of Wayag, which is made of karst or limestone from the other islands.

The waters of Raja Ampat have approximately 603 hard coral species, representing 75 percent of the total coral reefs in the world, according to the information posted on rajaampatlodge.com. Bessr/Abdussalam