East Nusa Tenggara province is being touted as a hot property in the tourism sector in years to come.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which is made of various islands including Flores, Sumba, Sumbawa, and the western half of Timor, says Kanisius Passar of the NTT Tourism department, has been chosen by the national Department of Tourism, Art & Culture in Jakarta as a special tourism zone from 2007.

In anticipation of this his department is planning various events from October 2006 to promote the art and culture of the area. An annual event is also being planned, that of an international sailboat race from Darwin in Australia which will take in the ports of Kupang, Alor, Lembata, Ngada, Labuan Bajo, until moving on to other areas such as Bali and Batam.

Cruising Guide to Southeast Asia, Vol. 2: Papua New Guinea, Indonesia…..

Additionally the growing importance of the cruise ship and recreational boating industry will be acknowledged by the building of a special quay in Kupang to handle such vessels. Fourteen international cruise ships currently make at least annual stops in NTT ports, and the new quay development is hoped to make the Australia-Kupang-Bali-Batam-Australia route more popular with cruise liners. Komodo island, Kelimutu Lake, and the Riung chain of 17 islands are noted as particular sites of interest for cruise ship passengers to visit.

Nemberala, on the south coast of Rote island, is also noted as a spot with great potential for further developing an industry centred on surfing, with the waves to be found on Nemberala beach being widely known as far superior to those at Kuta, Bali.