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THE INDONESIA’S Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is holding the “Tourism Industry Coordination Forum 2024” as an effort to strengthen synergies between the tourism industry and the creative economy in order to promote the competitiveness of the tourism industry and the creative economy in an inclusive and sustainable manner, as well as to identify and recognize opportunities and strategies for tourism and creative economy enterprises in generating economic growth.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Angela Tanoesoedibjo, appreciated the holding of the 2024 Tourism Industry Coordination Forum, which was held under the theme “Building Tourism Industry Synergy to Increase Competitiveness” and was attended by representatives from 49 tourism industry associations and related ministries/institutions.
“This is an important forum, especially as we are in the process of transitioning to a new government. Hopefully, tourism stakeholders can become more united,” said Angela in her speech at the opening of the “2024 Tourism Industry Coordination Forum”, Friday (07/12), 2024 in Jakarta.
The tourism industry plays an important role in Indonesia’s economy. Before the pandemic, tourism was the second largest foreign exchange earner after CPO. Tourism is also a sector that has a very large trickle-down effect on society.
“Tourism is a labor-intensive sector that, if properly maintained, can be passed on from generation to generation. The economic benefits could be even greater in the future. Tourism is also a sector that can promote economic equality in Indonesia, as tourism businesses can operate almost anywhere in Indonesia,” Angela remarked.
The latest data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) also states that Indonesia’s ranking in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) has risen 10 places to the top 22 in the world. The number of foreign tourist visits (tourists) in the period January to May 2024 reached 5.2 million visits. An increase of 23% compared to the previous period.
“So there have been improvements. By the end of the year, we are quite confident that we can achieve the target of 12 to 14 million visits. However, I emphasize that in the future, the challenges for Indonesia’s tourism and creative industries will also be bigger. ASEAN countries have quite high growth,” she stated.
Angela added that of course there is still a lot of homework to be done, but this is the right momentum for us to push the tourism sector back to being the key to the Indonesian economy. I invite all of you in this forum to work together to promote the return of our tourism.
Several things that could be used as material for discussion, Angela explained that include accessibility and sea connectivity, which is likely to be more economical than air connectivity.
“This needs to be carefully considered for massive future development. I am also tasked with how we start talking about developing a more sustainable tourism ecosystem that also supports the industry. Indonesia as a country with a population of this size, for them (ASEAN countries) we are the key to their growth. So, we have to be smart in looking at this,” continued Angela.
Meanwhile, Deputy for Industrial Management and Investment at Tourism Ministry, Rizki Handayani, explained that this forum would take place in a discussion concept divided into two sessions. The first is “Towards a Highly Competitive National Tourism Industry” and the second session will discuss the theme “Pentahelix Synergy to Realize a Growing and Sustainable Tourism Industry”.
“Resource speakers will be representatives from related ministries/institutions. Because we know that Indonesian tourism cannot be separated from the support of related ministries. Issues related to labor, safety, taxes, marketing, connectivity, all of these exist in other ministries as well. “The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy wants to support this existing industry so that it can grow competitively and sustainably,” Rizki Handayani explained.
Likewise, the Chairman General of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI), Hariyadi Sukamdani, welcomed the presence of this forum as a space to discuss various efforts and challenges faced by the tourism industry in supporting the development of tourism and creative economy in Indonesia.
“Like the issue of monitoring and enforcement of tourism regulations, we also never stop providing input to local governments. For example, now in Bali there are so many villas growing, and this is off the radar, they (villa managers) don’t pay taxes but can carry out activities that ultimately disturb and create unrest among the community,” concluded Hariyadi. [traveltext.id]
