He made the statement in response to a viral social media post complaining about the excessive parking fee of Rp350 thousand (US$24.5) levied on a bus by a parking operator in the Malioboro Road tourism area of Yogyakarta.
"We will take strict action to prevent this case from recurring in the future," Uno affirmed during the ministry's weekly press briefing in Jakarta on Monday.
He described the incident as regrettable, saying it has tarnished the positive image of tourism and creative economy in Indonesia, particularly Yogyakarta, at a time when the sector is struggling to recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and reopen jobs for the people.
The minister expressed the hope that tourism actors will no longer seek excessive profit while operating in tourism attractions to prevent the loss of tourists.
The Yogyakarta government has assigned three parking lots for tour buses serving tourists in the Malioboro Road tourism area, namely the Senopati Road parking lot located southeast of the road, Ngabean parking lot southwest of Malioboro Road, and Abu Bakar Ali parking lot located northwest of the tourism attraction, he informed.
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"The three parking lots have been authorized by officials, and parking operators there have observed related government regulations in levying parking fees," Uno said.
The minister clarified that Yogyakarta province's regional secretary Kadarmanta Baskara Aji has requested landowners who want to operate parking lots to register for a permit.
"By registering for a permit, we expect this kind of incident not to recur in the future," he explained.
Meanwhile, Yogyakarta deputy mayor Heroe Poerwadi said last Thursday (January 20, 2022) that he is optimistic the city's tourism will not be affected by the parking fee incident.
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Translator: M Baqir Idrus A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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