It becomes a cause for concern.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir encouraged the development of facilities for domestic tourists at various tourism destinations.

"We expect that in future, further development of infrastructure will take place for local tourists, such as the one in Madura Island, East Java Province," the minister remarked during an online discussion here on Saturday.

Thohir noted that to date, development was focused on improving facilities for foreign tourists.

This is despite the fact that domestic tourists have greater potential for economic transactions, reaching Rp1,400 trillion, while that for foreign tourists is only Rp300 trillion.

"Usually, Indonesian people prefer to vacation abroad. It becomes a cause for concern. Thus, we should revitalize the infrastructure to attract local tourists," the minister stated.

However, Thohir emphasized that his statement should not be misconstrued as his disapproval to international tourism while adding that it was solely to encourage greater support for local tourism activities.

The minister expects Indonesians to harbor a sense of pride in their culture and to participate in strengthening it.

Related news: State-run tourism holding to focus on domestic tourism: official

Thohir noted that Indonesia should take a cue from China that has striven to manufacture more local products amid the economic crisis in the past.

“Meanwhile, the current crisis we face is the COVID-19 pandemic, so we must encourage Indonesian tourism products to be preferred by the local community, especially in the wake of several international travel restrictions,” the minister pointed out.

Furthermore, Thohir called for local governments to be more active in encouraging investors to build infrastructure for local tourism in their respective regions.

Earlier, the minister expected state-run tourism and aviation holding PT Aviasi Wisata Indonesia (Persero), or InJourney, to strengthen the tourism ecosystem in the country to attract more tourists.

He assessed that Indonesia has myriad tourism potentials that still had to be improved.

The government expects getter connectivity between tourism destinations through adequate road and transportation infrastructure to facilitate tourists.
Related news: Indonesia looks to domestic tourists for tourism revival in 2021

Translator: Aji Cakti, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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