SUNGAILIAT – The acting governor of Kepulauan Bangka Belitung (Babel) Suganda Pandapotan Pasaribu accompanied the minister of tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno to officially open the 2023 Sungailiat Triathlon (swimming, cycling, and running) in Tanjung Pesona Beach and resort on Saturday (13/5/2023) at 06.00 a.m.
The title of the 2023 triathlon is Reunion and Welcome New Participants. It competes in 3 categories. The first is sprint open distance and sprint local distance consisting of 750 m for swimming, 20 km cycling, and 5 km running. The second is standard distance with 1.5 km swimming, 30 km cycling, and 10 km running. The third is long distance, competing 1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, and 30 km running. It also has age categories consisting of 20 to 30, 31 to 40, and upper 50 years.
“Thank you so much to all athletes for supporting tourism in Bangka Belitung. In the name of Allah, the triathlon is started. Have a nice race!” said the minister to all local and international athletes.
Suganda first opened the race. He waved the flag for long distance category. Sandi waved the following flag for standard distance. The regent Bangka, Mulkan, waved the flag for sprint local distance. The minister even participated as a racer.
The acting governor, accompanied by his wife Suganda Pasaribu, said that the event would encourage tourism in sports event.
“We can promote our attractions,” he said.
Considering its big effect, he also expected that it can hosted by other regencies and cities in the province.
“Hopefully, others regions will also host this event to give big effects on tourism,” he added.
The head of provincial Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, Widya Kemala Sari, explained that the event was initiated by the tourism office of Bangka. It is a part of the National Event Planning (REN) of the ministry of tourism. It has been postponed for years due to COVID-19.
“We haven’t seen international tourists for a long time after the pandemic. It’s expected to increase international visits,” she said. (Nona DP/ SAS/ZE)
