A "key draw card" for Indonesian tourism is the marine sector, an official said earlier this week.
Didien Junaedy, secretary general of the Indonesian Marine Tourism Association, explained that the coastal areas of the region have widespread international recognition as tourist attractions and that future development should not impact negatively on the environment.
"The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is nothing compared to the reefs in the Wakatobi Islands, which [constitute] the longest atoll in the world. And Raja Ampat in Papua can easily beat the Caribbean islands," he told the Jakarta Post.
Deputy regent of the Thousand Islands regency Abdul Rahman added that preserving the environment and improving infrastructure in the region are "crucial" aspects in the development of the tourism sector.
A 2002 Nature Conservancy study confirmed that Raja Ampat has the highest level of marine biodiversity on the planet.
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