Safar Bath Festival, Gorontalo Coastal Tradition Driven To Become A National Agenda

North Gorontalo Regent Tariq Modanggu (three from the right) held a discussion on the concept of regional tourism development. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Mandi Safar is a tradition that has lived a long time in the midst of coastal communities in various parts of the archipelago. Usually carried out on the last Wednesday of the month of Safar in the Hijri calendar, this activity is not only interpreted as a ritual against reinforcements, but has also developed into a cultural heritage that binds to community togetherness.

In some areas, this tradition is even packaged more lively into a festival involving art, culinary arts, and marine tourism attractions.

This phenomenon is also seen in North Gorontalo Regency, Gorontalo Province, which annually holds the Safar Bath Festival as a regular agenda. This local tradition is considered to have great potential to attract tourists, both because of the cultural value and attraction of natural tourism which is the background for its implementation.

"I have met face-to-face with the Secretary of the Minister of Tourism to propose the Safar Bath Festival activities in national standard activities which will be held in 2026," said North Gorontalo Regent Tariq Modanggu in Gorontalo, as quoted by ANTARA.

The local government hopes that the Safar Bath Festival can be included in the Kharisma Event Nusantara calendar belonging to the Ministry of Tourism. According to him, apart from being a cultural attraction, this activity can open up business exchange opportunities, bring tourism actors from various regions, and expand promotions through larger networks.

Through the festival, local governments target the presence of investors who can see business opportunities in the tourism sector. That way, local economic activities can grow, while the regions get additional sources of income.

Tariq emphasized that the development of regional tourism must optimize the natural, cultural and marine potential of North Gorontalo. Therefore, he also opened space for input in the preparation of the concept of tourism development, to be more adaptive to the needs of the times.

In addition, he assessed the importance of support from various parties to make this happen. "By involving five types of stakeholders, namely academics, communities, businesses (economy), the government and the media, we are targeting tourism in this area to progress and develop, especially increasing the interest of tourist visits to this area," he added.