MANADO - To support the conservation of coral reef and preserve its beauty and richness of the marine biota in the waters of North Sulawesi, Manado, the Sam Ratulangi Airport Branch Office of Angkasa Pura Airports held a program under its Corporate Social Responsibility activities by planting 500 Acropora coral reefs in the area of Boboca Beach, Manado, Tuesday (7/8). The General Manager of Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado, Minggus E.T. Gendeguai symbolically handed-over the coral reefs to the Community of State Sea Care (PELANG) Divers, Efra Wantah which was witnessed by the Director of Marketing and Services of Angkasa Pura Airports, Devy Suradji.
"Through this activity with the tagline "Coral Reefs Save the Future", we hope to be able to enhance the tourism sector of North Sulawesi and develop Boboca's underwater park to be more attractive for visitors. We expect that the entire community, as well as tourists can help to maintain the coral reef’s sustainability," said Director of Marketing and Services of Angkasa Pura Airports, Devy Suradji.
In terms of statistics, the number of international passengers arriving in North Sulawesi through Sam Ratulangi Airport in 2017 reached 170,314 passengers. While the number of domestic passengers coming through Sam Ratulangi Airport in 2017 reached 2,538,177 passengers. Until the first semester of 2018, the traffic of international passengers at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado reached 125,917 passengers, an increase of 69.18% compared to the same period of the previous year which reached 74,426 passengers. Meanwhile the traffic of domestic passengers through Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado in the first semester of 2018 reached 1,243,840 passengers or growing by 5.82% compared to the same period in the previous year which reached 1,175,454 passengers.
"Coral reefs are home for marine biota. If we want to present beautiful underwater tourism showing diverse marine biota, then we must preserve the coral reefs despite the current development of the city. We hope that this activity would be beneficial for tourism to be enjoyed by visitors coming to North Sulawesi Province in the future,"said by Minggus E.T. Gandeguai as General Manager of Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado.
Pelang Divers also welcomed the coral reef planting activities initiated by Angkasa Pura Airports, and Efra Wantah as Chair of the State Sea Care Organization expressed his appreciation to Angkasa Pura I for their concern towards marine conservation in the North Sulawesi region, especially Manado. [AD]
