Hargo.co.id, GORONTALO – The Mayor of Gorontalo, Marten Taha, and several officials from related government agencies (OPDs) visited the cities of Ternate and Tidore Islands, North Maluku Province, on Monday (December 4, 2023).
The visit was conducted to learn about the management of cultural tourism in the old city. Ternate was chosen because of its renowned historical remnants of kingdoms and sultanates.
Ternate also serves as a center for both domestic and international tourist destinations. Similarly, Tidore Islands are rich in a culture that is deeply rooted.
“As a historic city, Ternate and Tidore Islands have various cultural heritage, both in terms of material culture and non-material culture (values and traditions),” explained Marten.
Marten stated that the cultural heritage and tourism potential in both areas share similarities with Gorontalo City, where Gorontalo is also an area with historical remnants of kingdoms.
Based on these similarities, Marten emphasized the importance of adopting the management of these potentials as valuable assets for regional income.
During the meeting with the governments of both areas, Marten presented the tourism profile of Gorontalo City, supported by Regional Regulation No. 11 of 2016 concerning the Regional Tourism Development Master Plan (Ripparda) for the years 2016-2026.
“In the future, the tourism development policy of Gorontalo City will be directed towards the development of the old city’s cultural tourism area (heritage),” said Marten.
Furthermore, Marten mentioned that in the Old City area of Gorontalo, there are six buildings that have been designated as cultural heritage sites, with official status granted by the Mayor’s Decree (SK Walikota), and there are more than 100 buildings that are suspected cultural heritage objects (ODCB).
“At the moment when we choose Ternate and Tidore Islands as destinations for the implementation of a benchmark study on various conservation, management, and utilization programs for cultural and historical tourism destinations,” Marten expressed.
During the visit, the delegation from the Gorontalo City Government was received by the Mayor of Ternate, M. Tauhid Soleman. Meanwhile, in Tidore Islands, the delegation was received by the Secretary of the Region, Ismail Dukomalamo. (*)
Author: Rendi Wardani Fathan
