Tourism villages are one of the most important icons of national economic recovery efforts at the village levelJakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Abdul Halim Iskandar, has described village-owned enterprises and tourism villages as icons of national economic recovery at the village level.
"Tourism villages are one of the most important icons of national economic recovery efforts at the village level," he remarked while delivering a statement at the 2022 Nusantara Tourism Village Promotion Competition launch event on Monday.
Village-owned enterprises and tourism villages can play a strategic role in ensuring economic resilience and recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered a significant decline in economic development.
The Nusantara Tourism Village Promotion Competition organized by the ministry is an effort to enhance national economic recovery, particularly in the tourism sector, Iskandar informed.
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As tourism villages have the potential to become renowned destinations on the domestic or global scale, the minister said he expected the managers of tourism villages to optimize the event.
"(The competition) is only for tourism villages managed by village-owned enterprises or joint village-owned enterprises," he added.
The minister expressed the hope that the number of participants in the second leg of the competition would increase from the 1,407 tourism villages that took part in the first leg held from January till June this year.
"Some 5 thousand tourism villages in Indonesia are managed by village-owned enterprises and joint village-owned enterprises. In the second period (of the competition), (the number of) participants must be increased," he said.
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He then instructed village associates to consolidate tourism villages within their jurisdiction to participate in the competition.
"This will be a highlight for professional village advisors and will be measured as their performance record," the minister said.
District heads and mayors must also reiterate their commitment to tourism villages as an effort to bolster tourism recovery at the village level, he added.
"If villages in your districts or cities have solid economic conditions, that means economic recovery levels at the districts (or cities) would also increase significantly," Iskandar remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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