TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Maya Watono, Marketing Director of InJourney, said that the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company has been provided with a target to increase the number of domestic and international tourists. The Holding company must be able to record 330 million of domestic tourists and 17 million international tourists, a number which is equal to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic hits.

"In addition, we are also targeted to be able to improve the tourism sector to give a 4.5 percent contribution to the GDP [Gross Domestic Product]. That is a massive effort because during the pandemic, the[tourism] sector only contributes under 4 percent of the GDP," Maya said in an online press conference on Friday, January 14, 2022.

Maya explained that to achieve the target, the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company has prepared a strategy. The long-term strategy is to create clusters under the holding company supervision integrated in a single econsystem. The clusters under the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company includes the aviation, tourism, hotel, and retail sectors.

Maya asserted that several matters that must be synergized are transportation availability, logistic flow, and availability of accommodation for tourism. She believed that if the tourism can be integrated, the goal to increase numbers of domestic and international tourists can be achieved.

Meanwhile, for the short-term strategy, the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company has created a 100 days calendar of event. The calendar of event will serve as a reference for activities within a certain year that will be held at high-priority destinations to increase tourist number.

"The closest one is MotoGP. MotoGP will be the exercise," Maya said.

Further, the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company will create a timeline to achieve specific targets in each cluster. Maya hoped that the creation of the Tourism Holding company can help to accelerate economic recovery in the tourism sector, aviation sector, and creative economy sector.

"We hoped the Covid-19 conditon can get better. Because if it is not, it will present a challenge," Maya said.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially inaugurated InJourney, which is the name of the State-Owned Enterprises Tourism Holding company. The holding is led by PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia, an earlier stage holding company established in October 2021 consisting of six state-owned company, namely: PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero), PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero), PT Hotel Indonesia Natour (Persero), PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan dan Ratu Boko (Persero), and PT Sarinah (Persero).

"We need to take advantage of the condition as a turning point to do a leap, momentum to reorganize, momentum to transform, to construct a stronger and more resilient ecosystem," Jokowi said in a written statement on Thursday, January 13, 2022.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA