ER
ON TUESDAY (7/13), we lost one of the legendary tour guides, tourism observers and activist, Tedjo Iskandar Darmawan who passed away at 5:30 am. The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, also expressed his condolences.
The Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, expressed his deep condolences for the loss of the founder of the Indonesian Tour Leaders Association (ITLA) Tedjo Iskandar (60) as quoted from his press release, Tuesday (13/7/2021).
Tedjo Iskandar died at Ukrida Hospital, Jakarta at 05.30 and the body of the deceased was cremated at 17:30.
“I convey my deepest condolences for the passing of the late Tedjo Iskandar,” said Sandiaga Uno.
Minister Sandiaga mentioned, the figure of Tedjo Iskandar who has been struggling in the world of tourism, especially tour leaders since the 1980s. Sandiaga admired the figure of the deceased who was known for the principle of always working from the heart in all types of work.
“I believe these values will be firmly held by tour guides and other tourism actors in Indonesia to revive Indonesian tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic and open up the widest possible employment opportunities,” Sandiaga Uno noted.
Quoted from various sources, Tedjo Iskandar was born in Palembang, December 12, 1960. He is known as one of the senior figures in the Indonesian tourism industry. His career began when he became a freelancer in a travel agency, which later established him as a tour leader for more than three decades.
Tedjo was born as the third child of a pair of parents named Iskandar Darmawan and Yenny Iskandar. His father is a building material entrepreneur and his mother is a housewife.
He completed his education at SMA Xaverius Palembang and decided to migrate to Jakarta in 1980 to take a diploma in tourism at the Trisakti School of Tourism. Currently, Tedjo is married and has 2 children.
Tedjo started his career as a freelancer in a travel agency when he was still a student. After graduating from college in 1983, he became active as a tour leader. Starting from shuttle guests from and to the airport, until finally he led a trip abroad for the first time.
His achievement leading the tour to Europe became the peak indicator of a tour leader’s career at that time. During his career, Tedjo has often led trips involving Indonesian celebrities, such as Sarah Sechan, Ari Wibowo, Bella Saphira, Ferry Salim and others.
In 1995, Tedjo founded a company in the field of travel trade exhibitions called TTC (Tourism Training Center) Indonesia with its products TTC Travel Mart and TTC Training. Tedjo himself has given up his role as a tour leader and has begun to apply the knowledge from his 3 decades of experience as an observer in the world of tourism.
As a senior tourism activist, Tedjo has been invited several times to be a speaker at tourism-related events. In 2018, he was invited as a speaker at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy event entitled Standardization of Provision of Tourism Information. [sources/photo special]
