Padang (ANTARA) - The XII Tour de Singkarak (TdS) event in 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it would be held again in 2021 by involving three provinces in Sumatra such as West Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.
“West Sumatra and Jambi have must be. Now, we explore Riau. If there is a deal, TdS XII will involve three province,” Head of Tourism Office W Sumatra, Novrial stated in Padang, Tuesday.
He said the involvement of neighboring provinces in TdS was in accordance with the TdS tagline of "connecting Sumatra". TdS which is a "sport tourism" event is very suitable to be a joint tourism promotion event. it was also agreed and became the result of a coordination meeting of the Governor of Sumatra some time ago.
The exploration of the possibility of Riau's entry into TDS XII in 2021 was carried out during a working visit by the Secretary of the West Sumatra Tourism Office, Taufik Ramadhan accompanied by the Head of Marketing Hendri Agung Indrianto to Pekanbaru, Riau.
Taufik said the visit was to follow up on a letter from the Head of the West Sumatra Tourism Office to the Head of the Riau Tourism Office in February 2020 regarding the possibility of joining districts and cities in Riau in TdS.
"After the letter was sent there was a COVID-19 pandemic so communication was interrupted. Now we are trying to explore again for TdS XII in 2021," he said.
He said the implementation of TdS 2019 had involved Jambi Province such as Kerinci Regency and Sungai Penuh City. The two regions were considered successful hosts for the first time and hoped to become hosts again in 2020. In addition to the two regions, Bungo and Merangin Regencies, Jambi also expressed an interest in participating.
Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic made TdS 2020 canceled. Nevertheless in 2021 it is hoped that the pandemic has ended and TdS can be held again as usual.
"We hope that several regions in Riau can also join in 2021," he said.
Marketing Head of the West Sumatra Tourism Office, Hendri Agung Indrianto added that the implementation of the TdS 2021 could be used as a promotional event for tourism-based economic recovery for West Sumatra, Jambi and Riau after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Head of Marketing of the Riau Tourism Office, Tengku Reza said that the possibility of Riau participating in TdS 2021 was very possible, but for the final had to go through a number of coordinating processes with all relevant parties.
Tour de Singkarak 2021 comeback, involve three province
Sekretaris Dinas Pariwisata Sumbar Taufik Ramadhan bersama Kabid Pemasaran Hendri Agung Indrianto menjajaki kemungkinan Riau ikut jadi tuan rumah TdS 2021. (ANTARA/ist)
