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MINISTER of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of Tourism and Creative Economy Agency Wishnutama Kusubandio invites the tourism ministers of G20 member countries to continue to work together and prepare new standards in responding to the dynamics of global change (new normal) due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism sector.
Wishnutama Kusubandio when speaking in a virtual forum titled “The Extraordinary G20 Tourism Ministers Virtual Meeting” led by the Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Khatib as Chair of the G20 Forum 2020, Friday (4/24/2020) night, said the tourism sector when this faces a severe challenge from COVID-19.
“In Indonesia, more than 2,000 hotels were closed, almost all tourist destinations, objects and tourism facilities were stopped and affected the workers in it. For that Indonesian Tourism Ministry has and will continue to ensure various stimuli needed by workers and the tourism industry can be fulfilled during the emergency response period and the recovery of COVID-19. That prompt and appropriate action must be taken during this period,” he said.
Wishnutama affirmed that one of them is through the support of providing hotel and transportation facilities for health workers. Where it is also a form of support for the hotel and transportation business so that they continue to employ their employees.
He stressed that Indonesia had also taken various steps under an economic stimulus policy worth more than US$24 billion to help the community survive this pandemic. The current situation requires the community to remain at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“But it must be acknowledged that even though physically the community is stuck at home, this pandemic has connected people digitally more intensively than before. I am sure this phenomenon will continue to develop into a “new normal” which has a positive impact on the tourism sector,” he noted.
For this reason, he encouraged all countries to continue to work together in preparing new standards in responding to the dynamics of global change due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism sector.
“Indonesia believes that if all the G20 countries work hard together hand in hand in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector will again prove its ability to be ‘resilient’ in facing various disasters and problems,” Wishnutama said.
He explained, we must be able to set new norms in responding to this pandemic. We must strengthen collaboration to formulate and reform international standards, so that we can work together and help each other in all sectors affected, especially the hardest hit tourism sector.
The G20 Forum consists of the 20 largest economies in the world, including Indonesia. Specifically in the Extraordinary G20 Tourism Ministers Virtual Meeting this time several guest countries such as Spain, Singapore, Switzerland, and Jordan, as well as the Leaders of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) was also invited to submit information and the steps each had taken in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of tourism.
This meeting aims to facilitate cooperation in protecting the tourism business, employment, and supporting tourists through unprecedented challenges.
“It takes strong cooperation to encourage the world in mitigating and restoring the situation. Both during the pandemic and post-epidemic. Indonesia is ready to assist, in formulating global policies and implementing new norms and standards,” Wishnutama concluded. [traveltext.id]
