TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Keraton Festival and Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia will be held again in October. In the fifth year, Sumenep Regency, East Java, is initiated by Keraton Greetings Forum to host.
It will involve 58 palaces (keraton) and 196 cultural figures across the ASEAN. It will be held at Keraton Sumenep, various tourism-based events have been prepared to attract tourists.
Sumenep is chosen because it is the only district in East Java that still maintains the existence of keraton. “This palace marks Sumenep’s age, which has been 748 years,” said Sumenep Regent A. Busyro Karim on Tuesday, February 20.
During the festival, visitors can explore the uniqueness of the kingdom that has ancient buildings. The architecture in Sumenep Kingdom is still original. The building has fusion-style, a mixture of Chinese, Javanese, and Arabic.
To accommodate visitors, Sumenep Administration has prepared 18 hotels. Two additions have already been built and will be operational by March.
It will be the trigger for foreign tourist to visit Sumenep in 2018. Sumenep targets 15 thousand visits of foreign tourists in 2018.
FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA
