Deputy of Marketing Development at the Ministry of Tourism, Nia Niscaya, here Sunday said the recommendations in the form of the 2018 OECD economic survey for Indonesia would be one of the references in setting up policies on the tourism sector.
"Yes, because this recommendation complements the recommendation provided by the UNWTO," Nia said, adding that the ministry had met with the OECD at the OECD Secretary General Meeting on the sidelines of the 2018 IMF-WB Annual Meeting.
On that occasion, the OECD reminded Indonesia of the importance of sustainable tourism development.
"Although Indonesia is not a member, but it is active in tourism committees to implement sustainable development programs on tourism. So this is in line," she said.
The OECD believes that Indonesian tourism is growing very positively amid the global economic pressure. Yet, the organization reminded that if tourism was built unsustainably, then it could become instantly vanished.
"We are reminded to look after the tourism sector because if it is not sustainable it will be all lost. The OECD provides us with sustainable development benchmarking in Mexico," she noted.
The Tourism Ministry welcomes the recommendations of the OECD because it is in line with Indonesia`s sustainable development on tourism.
"We welcome the recommendation because it is in line with our programs on sustainable tourism," Nia said.
She added that tourism development needs to balance between natural conservation and exploitation.
"Conservation and exploitation of nature should be balanced. We always emphasize that the more conserved, the more prosperous," she said.
The 2018 OECD economic survey of Indonesia also mentions the growth of tourism in the country which is very good, and thus it boosts local development.
The OECD noted that the number of annual tourist visits has nearly tripled in the past ten years.
The organization recommended a stronger and more sustainable tourism development by incorporating infrastructure in the tourism destination management plan.
The OECD also recommended organizing more vocational training to build the skills of tourism workforce.
In addition, the OECD also recommended increasing protected areas and opening more of such places for tourism by managing visitor number and charges.
Reporting by Hanni Sofia
Editing by Libertina WA
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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