TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno offers recommendations of five destinations that can be used as wedding locations other than Bali. They are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, and Likupang in North Sulawesi.

“These are the five super priority destinations in Indonesia that can be included in the list of wedding event locations. The beauty of the nature that is offered is definitely very enchanting," Sandiaga said in a statement during his Welcome Remarks for Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) Congress 2022 held in Bali, Thursday, September 29.

The minister is optimistic that the wedding industry can be a locomotive of the economic recovery not only in Indonesia but also globally. "So it may open new and quality jobs, and realizing a more inclusive and sustainable tourism," he said.

Based on the data collected by the ministry before the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of the domestic wedding industry was expected to be more than US$4 billion in 2019. The figure rose to around 20 to 30 percent in 2020, just right before the pandemic hit.

“So, this is a huge opportunity for businesses to develop the wedding industry and become the locomotive for new quality jobs," said Sandiaga.

One wedding event can gather between 200 to 300 workers to prepare and succeed the party. The workers come from various subsectors of the creative economy, such as photographers, videographers, fashion designers, make-up artists, the food and beverage sector, and souvenir suppliers.

In addition, the length of stay of the visitors to a wedding event will usually be longer, at around five to seven days. It will give a multiplier effect for other industries, such as the MSMEs and other tourism attractions.

Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) Congress is known as the world's biggest B2B (business to business) platform that gathers strategic partners in the wedding sector. Starting from destination wedding planners, hotel business owners, tourism businesses, and creative partners, as well as the global wedding industry suppliers. “We're glad to host the most prestigious wedding conference in the world. And I hope that this collaboration will not only last for the next several days but also will be a sustainable partnership,” Sandiaga remarked.

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