The Lok Baintan Floating Market Festival in Banjar, South Kalimantan, has been listed in the 2022 Kharisma Event Nusantara program, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry informed here on Sunday.

“There are three activities in South Kalimantan that are included in the list of the 2022 Kharisma Event Nusantara. They are the Saijaan Festival in Kotabaru, the Loksado Festival in Hulu Sungai Selatan, and the Floating Market Festival in Lok Baintan in Banjar District,” the Ministry’s Business Development Expert Staff Dadang Rizki Ratman pointed out.

Ratman was present at the 2022 Lok Baintan Floating Market Festival at the Sungai Pinang Lama Village Pier, Sungai Tabuk, Banjar, South Kalimantan, on Sunday, to deliver the remarks of Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno.

Minister Sandiaga Uno launched the 2022 Kharisma Event Nusantara (KEN) program as an effort to revive the tourism sector in regions, aiming to promote tourism destinations, increase tourist visits, empower local potential, and generate positive impacts on the economy, socio-culture, and environmental sustainability.

According to him, the Lok Baintan Floating Market Festival has succeeded in providing an extraordinary scene for the public and tourists with hundreds of women who ride on canoes to trade on the Martapura River.

There are three benefits of implementing this activity, first, is the economic benefit, where many tourists come and transact with the floating market traders, he said.

The second benefit is socio-culture because the floating market is a unique culture of the people of South Kalimantan, especially in the Martapura River area.

The third is preserving the environment because, in this activity, efforts of maintaining environmental sustainability are implemented.

“There are many activists and environmentalists here, including South Kalimantan’s efforts to introduce the Meratus Geopark to the world,” he said.

Governor of South Kalimantan H Sahbirin Noor stated that the economy of South Kalimantan is still dominated by the non-renewable natural resources sector, such as coal, hence, it is necessary to develop other sectors such as tourism.

“Hopefully, this activity will add the tourists’ attraction, so that the community’s economy increases, and improve the regional economy,” Noor said.

Source: Antara News