F1 Powerboat raises economic impact for local rickshaw drivers

Toba, North Sumatra (ANTARA) - The F1 Powerboat (F1H2O) World Championship, which took place in Balige Sub-district's Lake Toba, North Sumatra, on February 25-26, 2023, has empowered several local motorized rickshaw taxi (bentor) drivers.

A bentor driver named Daniel Manurung said here on Sunday, the event brought him more passengers, amounting to three to four times the number he got on normal days.

On weekdays, his average daily income ranged from Rp50 thousand to Rp80 thousand, but during the event, Manurung could earn around Rp150 thousand to Rp 200 thousand per day.

"It is nice because of this event, Balige is crowded. I usually go around until noon, but during this event, I still find passengers until the evening because there are many visitors who need a ride," he said.

Earlier, the police had carried out a traffic engineering policy to prevent crowds and traffic congestion at the F1 Powerboat sites.

This traffic scheme had been enforced from Thursday (February 23) until Sunday when the event was finished.

Motorized rickshaws are readied at some points to help the mobility of spectators and as a means of transportation.

InJourney's Director of Marketing and Tourism Program Maya Watono said the F1 Powerboat event is expected to have an economic impact that can be felt by the community.

The unique Balige motor rickshaw, she said, can be a choice of transportation mode for tourists during the event.

"It is the right moment to introduce Balige's unique transportation mode to the tourists," Watono said.

The F1 Powerboat Championship can encourage Indonesian tourism, especially Lake Toba, as a main destination choice for world tourists, the Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Usman Kansong, said earlier on Friday (February 24).

For the championship, at least 502 outlets were prepared by the local government as a place for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) actors to exhibit and promote their products, which varied from food products, beverages, to souvenirs.