TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy / Tourism and Creative Economy Agency has said that protocols for the tourism sector in the new normal will focus on hygiene, health and safety in conducting businesses.

The ministry would ensure that tourism and creative economy actors would be ready to welcome the new normal by applying protocols focusing on the aspects of hygiene, health, and safety, Ari Juliano Gema, spokesperson of the ministry's COVID-19 Impact Mitigation Task Force said in a statement here on Sunday.

"Particularly for the tourism sector, the application of the new normal protocols aim to make visiting tourists feel safe and comfortable because tourism facilities are improved following the standards of cleanliness, health and safety," he said.

The protocols are expected to improve hygiene, health and safety standards in the tourism sector, as well as to increase digital innovation to advance Indonesia's creative economic sector so that they could rise up and compete in the global market.

Earlier, Indonesia's Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio had urged the tourism industry to implement health protocol during the new normal.

Kusubandio noted in a statement recently that the ministry had worked in coordination with related ministries and stakeholders to prepare protocols applicable in the sector.

"Health and security protocols will attract tourists. We continue to work hard to formulate strategic moves to prepare a health protocol in an effort to accelerate recovery of the tourism sector," he stated.

The minister made the statement during an international tourism webinar themed “Changes of Tourism Paradigm In the Era of New Normal” organized by the Indonesia Tourism Forum (ITF) on May 15, 2020.

The minister was upbeat about Indonesia's tourism industry recovering sooner than expected or less than five years to return to normalcy.

The closure of tourist destinations owing to the pandemic should be viewed as an opportunity to evaluate and rearrange the locations, so operators can improvise services and facilitate sustainable tourism development.

"We have to work towards ensuring faster recovery of the tourism sector. We fully understand that tourism is the backbone of the economy," he noted.

Kusubandio believes that the tourism sector has significantly contributed to creating jobs, boosting foreign exchange and investment, and bolstering development of other sectors.

ANTARA