Access To The Disconnected Road For Tourist Visits To Influential Padang

Coastal tourism is one of the advantages of tourism in the city of Padang. (ANTARA)

Padang-Bukittinggi national road access, which was completely cut off due to the flash flood disaster on May 11, 2024, affected the number of tourist visits to Padang City in the first semester of Padang Tourism Office, Yudi Indra Syani in Padang, Saturday said that his party noted that in the first semester of 2024 the number of tourist visits was reduced by around 50 thousand tourists when compared to the same period in 2023. He said that in the period January - June 2024, the number of tourists visiting Padang was recorded at 1,605,109 people. That number decreased from the same period in 2023. "In 2023, for the first semester the number of tourist visits was recorded at 1,653,481 people," he said. He said the total cut-off national road access in Lembah Anai, Tanah Datar Regency, became one of the causes of the reduced number of tourists to Padang during the school holiday season.

In addition, the alternative roads available are Padang-Bukittinggi via Malalak and Padang-Bukittinggi via Sitinjak Lauik are also often jammed due to high vehicle mobility. As a result, tourists who initially wanted to spend school holidays in Padang City, chose to cancel their plans and shift their destinations to other areas. Even so, he is optimistic that the target of tourist visits to Padang City in 2024 can still be achieved because the main Padang-Bukittinggi road access via Lembah Anai which was previously cut off can now be re-passed. He said that in 2024, the Padang City Government targeted 3.6 million tourist visits. Although for the first semester there is a decline, but in the second semester it is hoped that it can be triggered. To increase tourist visits by the end of the year, the Padang City Government has prepared a number of tourist agendas including the Siti Nurbaya Festival in August 2024, there will also be exhibitions of relic objects of the Prophet Muhammad and the Serak Gulo Festival at the end of the year.