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DESTINATION OPERATORS INVITED TO RE-ARRANGE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

THE closure of tourist destinations related to the COVID-19 pandemic should be a momentum for destination operators in the country to be able to evaluate and re-arrange their tourist attractions so as to present a better impression for tourists including starting to implement sustainable tourism.

According to the Expert Staff for Sustainable Development and Conservation of Tourism & Creative Economy Ministry, Frans Teguh on Monday (4/5) said that there would be a “new normal” condition or a new trend in post-epidemic trips, where tourists would pay more attention to tourism protocols, especially related to health, safety, comfort, sustainable and responsible tourism, authentic digital ecosystems, and others.

Also attending Head of Banyuwangi Regency, Abdullah Azwar Anas, member of the Indonesian Sustainable Tourism Council (ISTC) M. Baiquni, Chairperson of the GIPI DPP, Didien Djunaedy, as well as GIPI vice chairman who is also a member of ISTC, David Makes.

“Things like this will be our platform going forward, how sustainable tourism is a consequence of the development of tourism. In implementing sustainable tourism there are guidelines issued by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Indonesia is also actively coordinating with the UNWTO until the formation of Indonesia Sustainable Tourism Council (ISTC),” he said.

Frans Teguh added, even the government had also compiled guidelines in the application of sustainable tourism, namely through tourism minister’s regulation (Permenpar) Number 14 of 2016 concerning Sustainable Tourism Destination Guidelines.

“The Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy also has a framework and action plan to certify in collaboration with universities. Where the business is expected to grow sustainable tourism destinations in various regions of the country,” Frans Teguh noted.

He also explained, the result was that there were actually many tourism activists, tourism village actors, and communities who had succeeded in implementing sustainable tourism so that they could provide added value in economic development and development in general.

“It’s just that to apply it more broadly needed cooperation from all tourism stakeholders. Sustainable tourism work is not only sectoral work, but must be comprehensive both the community, government, academics and others or what we commonly call pentahelix. Various disciplines must work together and improve our approaches to not only increase competitiveness but also the sustainability of tourism activities,” he added.

For this reason, Frans stressed that currently there is good momentum to prepare our tourism destinations in the future.

“At present the momentum to fix, reopen or rebound to prepare a strategy. What we offer from the government is to implement and apply a sustainable tourism work pattern with its parameters and indicators comprehensively,” Frans concluded.

Meanwhile David Makes said sustainable tourism will be a very big opportunity going forward, especially after the epidemic, because in addition to being a tourist need from the investment side it is also not too big.

He affirmed that for example of the rivers in Venice, Italy, which are usually never seen, but are now very clear and many fish and even dolphins enter the Venetian area. This is what must be capitalized in the future.

“Without having to carry out massive re-investment but capitalizing existing ones around the destination but with a little touch of sustainability, it can give birth to new tourism both as a destination and as a tourism product. But leaders are needed to be able to give birth to what we call ‘new normal’ tourism,” David Makes stated.

At the same occasion Banyuwangi Regent, Abdullah Azwar Anas also agreed that the direction of sustainable development policy was a great opportunity in welcoming post-epidemic tourism. The Banyuwangi Regency Government has prepared and has a tourism recovery program, one of which is a sustainable tourism approach.

“What remains is the consistency of the regions in making regulations. For example we make village regulations (Perdes) how rice fields should not be built, then around the airport also may not be built and so on,” Azwar Anas said. [traveltext.id]