During the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector was deemed to be the most affected, thereby requiring aid to address various challenges, including the consistent application of standards in the health, security, and environmental sustainability sectors by the community.
"Moreover, (it is due to) the limited tourism activity, as various countries are ready to open borders and accept foreign tourists," Hartarto noted at the meeting of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association in Padang, West Sumatra, as seen here on Wednesday.
The minister highlighted that the government had readied several policies to facilitate recovery of the tourism industry, including allocation of incentives and a budget of Rp4.55 trillion to support the tourism sector and the creative economy.
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In addition, they pushed for tourism activities, such as the G20 Summit and the Mandalika International Circuit Superbike, with Rp3.39 trillion being budgeted.
To further meet the ends, they also developed a travel bubble, which was a scheme to enable tourism between countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of the unilateral and bilateral scopes, such as in Batam, Bintan, and Singapore, which have been tested.
"We expect that within the next two weeks, the number of ferries will increase in Batam-Bintan, and (we) also (expect to) be given the convenience of not being quarantined in Singapore based on VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane/special travel routes provided by one country to another)," he remarked.
Imposing stricter health protocol monitoring at various tourist destinations is viewed as being the main solution to deal with the pandemic. Tourist attraction managers were also expected to have a COVID-19 Task Force that met the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, Environment Sustainability (CHSE) standards.
"I compel everyone to step up cross-sectoral cooperation in order to accelerate the recovery of the national economy, especially in the tourism and creative economy sectors," the minister concluded.
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Translator: M Baqir I A, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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