REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CIAMIS -- Secretary of Tourism Ministry, Ukus Koswara, said that based on research within the last five years, religious tourism in Indonesia increased to 165 percent.

"Of many tourist diversity in Indonesia, there are still hidden potentials. Religious tourism becomes one characteristics of Indonesian tourism," said Ukus, in Ciamis, Sunday (22/11).

Ukus stated, in 2015 there was a shift of tourism trends. The trend was a change of tourism paradigm from "sun, sand and sea" to "serenity, sustainability and spirituality".

Moreover, for worldwide data, UNWTO estimated that about 330 million global travelers or 30 percent of the total global tourists had visited religious sites around the world. It was based on spiritual or cognitive motives.

Earlier, Minister of Tourism, Arief Yahya, asked involvement of all stakeholders to enhance and improve pilgrimage tourist destinations in Indonesia. Arief stated that he will focus on three sectors to build and improve religious tourism.

"I will focus on marketing, destination, and human resources," said Arief.

He revealed that in the next year, the Ministry will allocate Rp 1 billion for a pilgrimage destination for management costs, particularly clean sanitation.

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