REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- The Department of Tourism and Culture in the Riau provincial city of Pekanbaru has planned to transform the Siak riverbanks into a tourist destination to showcase its history, colonial heritage, and religious diversity.
"Our plan to transform the Siak riverbanks into a tourist destination is in line with the concept of creating a water front city, which had been launched long ago," local Culture and Tourism Department spokesman Hermanius noted here on Wednesday.
He remarked that during this time, the Siak riverbanks have become the location for holding the Petang Megang ritual ceremony to welcome every holy month of Ramadan.
Other highlights of the event include a duck-chasing competition on the Siak River and a low-cost market, selling a plethora of basic commodities.
Hermanius stated that the Petang Megang ritual ceremony was the first step to transforming the Siak riverbanks into a religious tourism destination.
The pluralism surrounding the city of Pekanbaru is reflected by the variety of religions and freedom of belief among the people in the city.
Islam is the majority religion in this city, followed by Christianity, as well as Buddhism, and a small percentage of the people follow Hinduism and Confucianism.
"Looking ahead, we still need to make various improvements to the existing onshore activities, and develop them further with other tourism events," Hermanius affirmed.
He further noted that colonial tourism could also be developed to attract foreign tourists.
During the colonial Dutch East Indies era in the 19th and early 20th century, Pekanbaru continued to be an important city, especially as a major trading point as the Siak river's navigation conditions facilitated the smooth flow of goods, with shipping from the Malacca Strait.
During the Second World War from February 1942 to August 1945, the city was occupied by the armed forces of Japan.
In an effort to strengthen the military and logistical infrastructure in this part of Sumatra, the Japanese launched the construction of a 220-kilometer-long railway, connecting Pekanbaru to the coast of Malacca Straits.
"In light of this, we have planned to develop the riverbanks of Siak, Indonesia's longest river, into a tourist destination," he noted.
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