The 2022 World Surfing League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) G-Land Pro event on Plengkung Beach, Banyuwangi, East Java, will help promote Indonesian tourism in the international market, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said.
Millions of people will watch the championship via streaming platforms from various parts of the world considering that WSL has become one of the most prestigious surfing league events at the global level, Uno added.
"WSL has the third-highest social engagement for sporting events after the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL/US football league), even beating MotoGP, which is in the ninth position," the minister noted in Jakarta on Saturday.
The WSL event will be held from May 28 to June 6, 2022. Uno said he hopes that the activity will help revive the tourism sector and the creative economy.
The event is expected to increase the length of stay of surfers as well as the quality of spending and thereby, affect the revival of tourism, he added.
Director of national and international events at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Dessy Ruhati, said that sports tourism is a part of profitable, qualified tourism since the target market is very specific and well-segmented.
The sports-based tourism sector accounts for five percent of the total revenue from the travel and tourism industry, the official added.
"To achieve qualified tourism, we can take advantage of sports-based tourism. This is part of the Indonesian tourism product portfolio, which is consistently supported by its development and diversification," Ruhati said.
Chairperson of the executive board of the Indonesian Surfing Association (PB PSOI), Arya Sena Subyakto, said that the WSL event is unique since it is being hosted within the Alas Purwo National Park with several zones.
A judge tower has also been built for judges in the middle of the sea.
G-Land has waves that are deemed among the best in the world, stretching up to two kilometers, he remarked.
"Not all surfing tournament locations have a judge tower in the middle of the sea and currently, (such towers are) only in Tahiti and Fiji," Subyakto added.
The WSL event will be broadcast through the website www.worldsurfleague.com or can be accessed through its app, which can be downloaded using the Android or IOS application. (*)
Editor : Abdullah Rifai
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