Govt Working on Bringing Tourist Destinations Under Single Authority

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno is preparing to bring super-priority tourist destinations in Indonesia under a single management authority.

He said that the idea emerged when he held a working meeting with Commission X of the House of Representatives.

"We are currently working on this bill (tourism bill) and especially for super-priority destinations so that there is no more ineffective coordination," Uno said at the “The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno,” which was followed online from Jakarta on Monday.

Ineffective coordination could eventually create distortions in society even as Indonesia struggles to improve the tourism sector, he added.

He said that cultural heritages and national parks should be maintained properly.

"We see that there must be a single management authority, which can provide complete information in narrative form. The narration is about what is being done by the government and how the products are offered," Uno explained.

A single management authority is needed even though the manager would be a part of the government.

"Everything must be managed properly, so that the narrative that comes out to the public becomes a single narrative for our awakening," Uno said.

This will allow Indonesia to reduce conflict and create quality and sustainable tourism in an effort to create jobs as well as benefits for the community.

"Learned from Labuan Bajo, people do not understand much about our conservation efforts. We expect that with the existence of the single management authority, we can convey our integrated narrative efforts to the public," the minister said.

He earlier invited a delegation led by US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) president and CEO Ted Osius to help develop Indonesia's tourism and creative economy sector.

"One of (the efforts) is by strengthening the capacity and capability of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism and creative economy sector through digitalization," Uno said.

The goal of digitizing and empowering MSMEs is aimed at creating 1.1 million new jobs in 2022 and 4.4 million jobs in 2024, he informed.

Meanwhile, the meeting with the US-ABC delegation was aimed at increasing the understanding of the US business world about the Indonesian government's policies to further develop economic cooperation between the US and Indonesia, especially in the tourism and creative economy sector.

According to Uno, digitalization has a crucial role in the major paradigm shift toward the digital-based economy, which is proceeding rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A digital touch will basically create quality and sustainable jobs," he said.

ANTARA

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