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INDONESIA’S Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy explained the various strategies that were carried out to restore the Indonesian tourism sector which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the ASEAN Minister of Tourism and Secretary General Forums.
According to Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, in The 24th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers which was held online, Thursday (4/2), said Tourism Ministry launched the Indonesia Care program as an effort to restore the country’s tourism sector and creative economy. This program is a form of our commitment to implementing the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) health protocol in tourist destinations in Indonesia.
“In addition to the implementation of the ‘Indonesia Care’ program, Tourism Ministry also disbursed tourism grants for tourism and creative economy actors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We design this program to help managers of hotels, restaurants and tourist destinations to survive this crisis,” he said.
Sandiaga explained that the Tourism Minsitry is collaborating with related parties such as tourism organizations and the ASEAN Tourism Committee (ATCM) to prepare the tourism industry of Southeast Asian countries. It aims to produce quality tourism products, improve service standards, and increase the human resources of the tourists.
“This was done as an effort to prepare themselves when entering a period of adaptation to new habits and increasing the confidence of tourists to travel to Indonesia and other ASEAN member countries. We don’t need to doubt that tourism is one of the main keys to economic growth and people’s welfare. History has also proven that tourism is a sector that can survive times of crisis. Therefore, let us work together to revive the tourism sector for the welfare of our society,” Sandiaga noted.
He stated the various efforts made by Indonesia in order to prepare itself as ASEAN Chair to replace Brunei Darussalam in 2023. One of them is by hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2023 which will be held in Yogyakarta.
“I am happy to announce that the 2023 ASEAN Tourism Forum will be held in one of the five super priority destinations in Indonesia, namely Borobudur. Precisely in Yogyakarta. We hope that the implementation of the 2023 ATF can become a momentum for the recovery of national and regional tourism,” Sandiaga concluded.
This was welcomed by the Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, Thong Khon. Thong Khon who acted as chair of this meeting said there needed to be strong collaboration between ASEAN countries to restore the ASEAN tourism sector which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In addition, there needs to be collaboration between international organizations and relevant stakeholders to achieve an inclusive, sustainable and strong ASEAN tourism sector for better socio-economic growth of the ASEAN community. As well as maintaining cultural diversity and biodiversity in the ASEAN region,” Thong Khon stated.
In this meeting, Sandiaga Uno was accompanied by the Deputy for Resources and Institutions of the Ministry of Tourism, Wisnu Bawa Tarunajaya; and Director of Human Resources Development, Muhammad Ricky Fauziyani. [traveltext.id]
