Menpora Dito Welcomes The Plan For Event Trail Of The Kings In The Lake Toba Area

Photo: Doc. Kemenpora

JAKARTA - The Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia (Menpora RI) Dito Ariotedjo welcomed the plan for a trail running or trail run event in the Kaldera Lake Toba area in 2024. This plan was conveyed by the Lake Toba Authority (BPODT) Implementing Agency in an audience with the Menpora, Wednesday, August 23 on the 10th floor, Kemenpora, Central Jakarta.

President Director of BPODT Jimmy Bernando Panjaitan said this event was in order to market and further introduce Lake Toba tourism to the world community. Including in order to stimulate Lake Toba tourism activities to drive the surrounding economy.

"Tourism in Lake Toba will not progress if there is no activity. Therefore, one of them is that we initiated Trial Run activities, which will involve elements around it, including youth," said Jimmy who was present with National Geographic Indonesia as a partner in this activity.

Titled "Train of The Kings: Toba Kaldera", this activity will combine trail running with the charm of natural tourism owned by the Lake Toba area. Moreover, the condition of the Lake Toba caldera is considered appropriate for cross-country traffic activities.

Not just an event, this Trail of The Kings collaborates directly with Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), the largest trail run event and world-class prestigious. In fact, this event is called the Olympics for trail run runners around the world. So it is considered too late to introduce Lake Toba tourism as well as Indonesia to the world stage.

"We are targeting to join UTMB. Because for Indonesia, one of the approaches to tourism is Lake Toba because it is considered selling," explained Jimmy.

He said, one of the requirements requested by UTMB is that there is support from the government in its implementation. For this reason, BPODT expects support from the relevant ministries in the Government, namely the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Responding to the presentation, Menpora Dito stated that he was ready to provide the necessary support. According to the Menpora, this activity is good and makes sense if you look at the tourism conditions in Lake Toba.

Furthermore, Menpora Dito reminded the organizers not to forget to invite their sports association, namely the Indonesian Trail Running Association (ALTI). Menpora also believes that many brands will be interested in sponsoring this event.

"Activities like this are usually many brands that are interested in sponsoring. In addition, if possible, a category of 5 kilometers can involve the community to participate," said Menpora Dito.