inp.polri.go.id - The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf), Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, said that Silokek Tourism Village, Sijunjung Regency, West Sumatra, with its various uniqueness, has the potential to be developed into a favorite tourist destination for tourists. Silokek Tourism Village is one of three tourist villages in West Sumatra which also included in the top 50 of the Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI). This village is 133 kilometers away from Padang City. Silokek Tourism Village has an area of 1,918 hectares and is located at an altitude of 150 - 200 meters above sea level and has several rivers such as Batang Kuantan and Batang Sangkiamo. In terms of natural scenery, this village has a surface structure of hills and a unique geological diversity, such as the 350 million years old sediment, as well as 250 million years old igneous rock which makes the Silokek the Ranah Minang Silokek National Geopark. Silokek Tourism Village also has Ngalau Basurek which is a cave formed due to dissolves of stones, and form a unique and interesting cave ornaments with a length of about 250 meters. Not only that it is a magnificent cave, but it also the historical value during the Dutch and Japanese colonial times. The cave also the witness of trade routes of merchants from the Malacca Strait to West Sumatra, which is how Islam spreads in the region. Menparekraf Sandiaga said, to develop the existing potential of the village, his party would initiate a number of events in the village. "If we want to attract national and international tourists, we could have had rafting events, but we could also held river crossing festivals in the region," he explained. Nevertheless, there are still many things that must be addressed in an effort to optimize the potential of Silokek Tourism Village. The village still have inadequate connectivity and infrastructure that still needs to be improved. "We will address this issue with the Ministry for Public Works and Human Settlements. For the long-term program, we also want to improve the quality of water flow," explained Menparekraf. This has received a positive response from the Regent of Sijunjung, Benny Dwifa Yuswir. He hoped that with the improvement in the Silokek Tourism Village, it can further bolster the efforts of the Sijunjung Regency Government in proposing Silokek to become one of the UNESCO Global Geopark area.