The combination of government policies and regional creativity in successfully managing tourism destinations must be maintained for the development of national tourism in the future.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has urged the government and stakeholders to continue to push the growth of national tourism after the Eid al-Fitr homecoming season.

"The combination of government policies and regional creativity in successfully managing tourism destinations must be maintained for the development of national tourism in the future," she remarked in a written statement issued on Monday.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, the number of international tourists grew by 21.91 percent in February 2022 compared to the previous month.

In comparison, the number of tourists swelled 151.98 percent during the same period in 2021.

During the Eid al-Fitr holiday this year, on one lodging reservation platform, four cities emerged as vacation hotspots—Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Bali.

Room reservations in the four cities rose by 13 percent compared to the third week of April.

A number of tourism destinations within the nation also showed a significant spike in tourist arrivals throughout this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday.

According to Lestari, the spike in tourist numbers during the holiday occurred without the influence of any other factors.

She outlined several factors that she felt contributed to the rise in tourist numbers in various regions.

The factors comprised the government's policy allowing homecoming this year, the on-time disbursement of Eid allowance (THR), and the preservation of economic conditions.

Moving forward, support from a number of parties to encourage the growth of the national tourism sector must be continued, Moerdijat said.

Related news: Tourism Minister sees improvement in Eid exodus handling

The type of tourism whose development can be immediately expedited is natural tourism, she opined.

"Indonesia has many locations with extraordinary natural beauty, whether they are mountains, beaches, rivers, and even villages with unique cultures, and can be offered as one of the tourism destinations," Lestari expounded.

These potential destinations await the creativity of stakeholders and local residents to manage them and prepare them for tourists by improving their environmental quality.

However, these locations must have a broad economic impact on the regions they are located in, she said.

Related news: Culture preservation, tourism push to go hand in hand



Translator: Putu Indah S, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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