Indonesian Ministry of Culture & Tourism launches 'Pesona Indonesia Award'

The Indonesian Ministry of Culture & Tourism will present an award for the best tourism writing and reporting in 2003 with the theme "Ragam Pesona Wisata Indonesia" or "Various Enchanting Tourist Destinations in Indonesia".

Contestants will compete for the "Pesona Wisata Indonesia" trophy, a part of the Gebyar Wisata Nusantara 2003 campaign launched on the 12th October.

Minister of Culture & Tourism I Gede Ardika stated that, "We appeal to the press and culture and tourism observers to restart tourism activities together through writings and informative and persuasive television programs that can arouse interest in visiting domestic tourist destinations," says Ardika.

According to Ardika, domestic tourism is one of the important contributors to stimulate the economy and create jobs for a lot of people in the tourism industry and the role of the press is very crucial in invigorating domestic tourism interest.

The contest is divided into two categories, namely print and TV media, and is open to the general public including the press, professional writers, industry observers, Indonesian and foreign citizens.

The winners will accept awards and domestic tour packages for 3 to 5 days including airline ticket, accommodation and cash totaling up to Rp60 million.

A requirement is that the article or program submitted to the contest must be published in 2003, the latest being 30 November 2003. The article or program can be in Bahasa Indonesia or English, with the latest date for submission of 5 December 2003.

Other conditions are, the article must have a tourism theme covering tourist destinations, culture, ease access and transportation along with facilities such as hotels and restaurant. Minimum article length is ¼ newspaper page or 1 magazine page and is an original work of the contestant. While for TV programs -- features preferred are those with a minimum duration of 10 minutes.

The panel of juries will be those from tourism industry players/businessmen, senior journalists, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Ministry of Culture & Tourism's communication consultants. The winner announcement is planned for mid December 2003.