TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government disbursed special tourism grants worth Rp3.3 trillion as a form of assistance for regional governments and business agents to revive the tourism industry, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio stated.

"To curtail the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain continuation of economic activities, particularly in the tourism sector, the government has prepared tourism grants worth Rp3.3 trillion as part of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) Program," the minister noted at the Presidential Office here on Wednesday.

The grants are designed to help regional governments, industries, hotels, and restaurants that are currently recording a decline in locally generated income (PAD) and reeling from financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he remarked.

"The tourism grants are transferred in cash to regional governments and tourism business undertakings, such as hotels and restaurants, in 101 districts and cities based on several criteria," he stated.

One of the criteria is that the cities are the capitals of 34 provinces categorized as 10 priority tourist destinations and five super priority destinations, he remarked.

The other criteria is that the districts and cities are incorporated in the 100 calendar of events and constitute banding destinations and regions, with income from hotel and restaurant taxes constituting at least 15 percent of the total PAD in the budget year 2019, he explained.

Kusubandio noted that 70 percent of the tourism grants will be transferred to hotels and restaurants on the basis of realization of hotel and restaurant taxes in 2019 at each regional government and 30 percent will be utilized to address the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on the tourism sector.

"The tourism grants will be channeled until December 2020,” he added.

Kusubandio expressed optimism that the grants would help streamline the application of health protocols based on Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) protocols in tourist destinations to proffer a sense of security and comfort to travelers visiting tourist destinations.

The tourism grants serve as an initial step to revive the tourism sector, he stated.

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