Indonesia’s Prestigious Cipta Award 2013 for Sustainable Tourism Management awarded to 9 Attractions

After careful selection of 144 tourist attractions in 27 among Indonesia's 34 provinces, nine attractions were finally presented with the prestigious Citra Pesona Wisata or the Cipta Award 2013 for Sustainable Tourism Management from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Director General for Destinations Development of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Firmansyah Rahim stated that the Cipta Award is based not solely on the attractiveness of the destination but emphasizes on its sustainable management. By placing high consideration on management, it is expected that Indonesia's destinations and attractions are capable of conducting sustainable growth and management.

"Cipta Award is a form of appreciation on the management of a destination, with the hope that in so doing Indonesia's attractions can be placed among top world class destinations", added Firmansyah at the Awards night that was held on 27^thSeptember 2013.

Yuana Marjuka, one of the judging panelists explained that there were 14 parameters used on sustainability pertaining to the environment, the economy, and culture which were used to evaluate winning destinations. She further added that over the years, awareness of and the need for sustainable development is consistently increasing.

From the 144 attractions submitted by 27 provinces, 41 destinations were nominated for juding by the panel . The panel sessions resulted in 27 destinations chosen for field evaluation. The 27 destinations were evaluated based on 9 categories, differentiated by type of tourist attractions and types of management. From each category, 3 final nominees were selected before winners were finally decided.

Final Winners announced who received the Cipta Award 2013 were the following:

• The Ulun Danu Bratan Temple in Bali

In the category of Natural Attraction managed by the National Government, Regional Government, State owned Enterprise or Regional Government Owned Enterprises

• The Lagoi Mangrove Forest Agro-tourism on Bintan in the Riau Islands

Natural Attraction managed by Private Sector category

• Kakaban Island, Derawan Archipelago, in East Kalimantan

Natural Attraction managed by Non-Government Organization, general public, or individual

• Fort Vredenburg in Yogyakarta

Cultural Attraction category managed by National Government, Regional Government, State owned Enterprise or Regional Government Owned Enterprise

• The Blanco Renaissance Museum in Bali

Cultural Attraction managed by the Private Sector

• Penglipuran Tourism Village in Bali

Cultural Attraction managed by Non-Government Organization, general public, or individual

• Owabong in Central Java

Man-made attraction managed by National Government, Regional Government, State owned Enterprise or Regional Government Owned Enterprise

• Sampireun Village in West Java

Man- made attraction managed by small scale private sector

• Jatim Park 1 in the town of Batu, East Java

Man- made attraction managed by large scale private sector

[Source: Indonesia Travel]