The Ministry of Tourism is encouraging the Bangka Belitung Islands Provincial Government to develop natural tourism potential to increase foreign tourist visits to the area.
"Currently, the global tourism trend is towards back-to-nature tourism," said Hariyanto, Deputy for Destination and Infrastructure Development at the Ministry of Tourism, in Pangkalpinang, Thursday.
He said the natural tourism potential in the Bangka Belitung Islands is extraordinary because it has natural beauty that is not inferior to tourism in other countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore.
"The Babel Islands have extraordinary natural and cultural tourism potential, and this is the foundation for developing them into a global tourism destination," he said.
