Observers Upbeat about Jokowi Continuing to Boost Tourism

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The president- and vice-president-elect (Jokowi and Ma'ruf Amin) are expected to make continued efforts to drive the tourism sector to boost the state income and people's welfare, tourism observer from Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto, Central Java, Chusmeru stated.

"In addition, infrastructure development should be continued, particularly for tourism supporting infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, airports, and electricity and telecommunications networks," he noted in Purwokerto, Central Java, Saturday.

He called for the need to focus attention on ensuring greater accessibility to tourism attractions, as it will make it easier for tourists to travel.

Moreover, he emphasized that the elected president and vice president should continue to improve service quality across all components of the tourism sector.

He believes this can be achieved by enhancing the capacity of human resources in the tourism sector, including through the certification of tourism actors, in the fields of hospitality, restaurants, and transportation, as well as for managers of tourist attractions and tour guides.

"Several complaints from tourists are still received due to poor service. Hence, the tourism sector must be managed more professionally by always following the development of tourism management in other countries," he stated.

Furthermore, he highlighted the need for the elected president and vice president to ensure equal income for those engaged in the tourism sector in all provinces, districts, and villages.

"The way forward is by encouraging the creation of superior destinations in each province. The government also needs to encourage each district to develop tourism villages in a bid to boost the income and welfare of rural communities," he stated.

He remarked that the promotion of tourism abroad also should be improved in various ways, both through the Indonesian embassy and by involving the private sector, so that the target of foreign tourist arrivals can increase annually.

"Moreover, in 2020, there is a need to launch a large-scale campaign on the movement of tourism, so that all people become more passionate about traveling to revive the domestic tourism sector," he added.

ANTARA

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