TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The tourism office of Padang city in West Sumatra Province will hold an arts festival twice a month at Padang Beach to support "Pujasera," or the hawker center, at the beach. "This is a stage for artists to showcase their expertise at the hawker center 'Gelanggang Silih Baganti Pujasera,' " stated Medi Iswandi, head of the Padang Tourism Office, on Friday.

The arts festival is aimed at attracting the public to the culinary center at Padang Beach, he explained. It is part of the city government's efforts to increase tourism activities. The arts festival is open to the public free of charge.

Iswandi revealed that 3.6 million tourists visited Padang in 2017, and the local authorities expect 3.8 million people to visit the city this year.

"A number of local, national and foreign artists will showcase their performances at the center," Iswandi noted.

Padang was listed as one of the 18 leading tourist destinations offered at the promotion event to attract Spanish tourists, especially for the summer holiday.

The event was Visit Wonderful Indonesia Year 2018 (ViWI 2018) in Spain held from Jan 17 to 21, 2018. Padang was assessed to has fulfilled the 3A (accessibility, amenities, and attraction) requirements at the International Tourism Fair of Madrid Fitur in Spain.

ANTARA