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INDONESIA hopes to immediately operationalize the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework (ATCAF) which is currently still devoted to essential business travel, in the future it can cover the tourism sector and can be expanded to ASEAN Plus Three countries (Japan, South Korea and China).
According to the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Angela Tanoesoedibjo, speaking at the forum “The 20th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, and Republic of Korea) Tourism Ministers” which took place online, Friday (5/2), said, Indonesia is the initiator country of the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework (ATCAF) which was agreed by the leaders of ASEAN countries at the 37th ASEAN Summit forum, November 2020.
“The initiative is now only devoted to essential business trips, but the tourism sector can also play an important role in enhancing the harmonization of the implementation of health protocols and contact tracing mechanisms within the ASEAN pillar,” said Angela Tanoesoedibjo.
The ASEAN Plus Three (APT) cooperation is a consultation forum between ASEAN and Plus Three countries (China, Japan and South Korea). APT was formed in 1997 when the Asian region was hit by an economic crisis. Apart from political and economic cooperation, APT cooperation also covers sectors, among others, education through student exchanges, promotion of the tourism sector, and capacity building in the field of disaster management and public health.
Angela stated, if the expansion of the ATCAF can go well, then the trust and tourists will grow and the tourism sector and the region’s creative economy can recover.
The number of foreign tourist visits in ASEAN Plus Three countries is increasing every year. In 2019, total tourist visits reached 337,944,726, an increase of 4.76% from 2018 of 322,604,342 tourists. However, in 2020, the pandemic caused tourist arrivals to drop drastically by 81.5%.
“We hope that China, Japan and Korea can also participate in this program,” Angela noted.
Meanwhile, for the context of ASEAN tourism cooperation, Indonesia proposes two main ideas. First is the preparation of the ASEAN Plus Three Tourism and Training Education Network (APTTEN) directory and second, the expansion of the ASEAN MRA-TP Agreement to Plus Three Countries.
“We are sure that these programs will benefit our relationship, so we ask for your support in this regard,” said Angela.
Angela said that the recovery of the tourism sector and the national creative economy is one of the priorities carried out by the Indonesian government in 2020. Tourism Ministry has launched and implemented a CHSE-based health protocol including a free national CHSE certification program for the tourism business.
In addition, a grant of IDR3.3 trillion will help finance the hotel and restaurant sector for operational and implementation of health protocols.
“This year we are committed to expanding the two programs, in line with the vaccination program which was started in the middle of last month and has been distributed throughout Indonesia which is fully funded by the government,” concluded Angela.
“The 20th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and Republic of Korea) Tourism Ministers” was chaired by the Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, Dr. Thong Khon and Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, Xu Zhang.
On this occasion, a 2021-2025 ASEAN Plus Three (APT) tourism cooperation plan was agreed to focus on strengthening APT tourism cooperation in the next 5 years and prioritizing tourism recovery in the APT region. [traveltext.id]
