INDONESIAN Health Minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, is urging his colleagues in the Ministry of Tourism, to cash in on some of the country's alternative medicine practices, including penis enlargement massages, to lure visitors.
Putranto described the unique massage treatment as a national asset, claiming it had the potential to fuel a health tourism industry.
"We must popularise the idea of traditional medicine for tourism," he said.
"We have an incredible herbal medicine industry that no one knows about outside Indonesia.
"If we package it correctly, foreigners will be interested."
Putranto said treatments such as Mak Erot (penis enlargement massage), Tongkat Ali (a leaf that is believed to bolster athletic performance) and Purwaceng (a substance that boasts similar effects to sildenafil), could all be exploitable services.
The Health Minister added that seeming cure-all "kerok" could also attract visitors.
Kerok involves rubbing a coin against a patient's skin with menthol oil, which Patranto said visitors would find "intriguing".
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