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THE INDONESIAN Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy welcomes the first foreign tourists to arrive in Indonesia in 2023. Two tourists from Toronto, Canada, arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, using a Korean Air plane from Incheon, South Korea.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, Saturday (01/01) 2023 early morning said that on behalf of the government, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has the honor of receiving visits from foreign tourists. They are a couple from Toronto, they will be one month in Indonesia visiting several places in Bali and they will be diving, after that they will also go to Yogyakarta and several other destinations.
Apart from the married couple, there were also several tourists from South Korea who were warmly welcomed from Sandiaga, who was accompanied by Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, gave flower garlands and souvenirs.
“Apart from Toronto, there were several pairs of tourists from South Korea. So January 1, 2023, hopefully after PPKM ends it will be a new chapter of Indonesian tourism,” said Sandiaga.
The performance of the tourism and creative economy sectors in 2023 is faced with quite high targets. Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to reach 7.4 million and domestic tourists to reach 1.2-1.4 billion movements.
Bali as one of the leading destinations in Indonesia which is known for its reputation in the world is expected to be able to support this target with the number of foreign tourist visits of 4 million.
“We hope Bali in particular can be at 4 million. This year the target (foreign tourists to Bali) which was initially 1.8 was achieved with 2.2 million. Hopefully this target is realized. Let’s maintain our alertness, whether it is related to extreme weather or if there is an increase in COVID-19 cases in several countries,” Sandiaga remarked.
In an effort to achieve this target, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy together with related parties will try their best to prepare various programs. Especially in quality and sustainable tourism with nature and culture as an attraction.
“Also increasing accessibility, adding attractions, especially events. The big events in 2023 are many (related to) sports, there is the FIFA World Cup U-20, in Bali there is the World Beach Game, in Jakarta there is the FIBA World Cup. So this is what we will later use as a strategy to support an increase in the number of foreign tourists,” Sandiaga added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Cok Ace) also welcomed the first foreign tourists in 2023 to visit Indonesia, especially Bali.
“Hopefully this is a good start, the length of stay which is currently around 5 days to 1 week, we hope to be more, to return to our former glory days of over 10 days. Hopefully this is a good start for the tourism community. Let’s welcome 2023 with full of hope, optimism and we can get back up,” Cok Ace concluded. [traveltext.id]
