Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has the capability to lead the global community in addressing tourism and creative economy issues, according to Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.

"The designation of Indonesia as the host of the G20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) is our opportunity to show the world that Indonesia has the capability," he remarked in a virtual address at the DIGIWEEK 2022 event organized by the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), accessed from here on Thursday.

The significant decline in the tourism and creative economy sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for Indonesia to lead the global community in the sector's recovery in the digital era, he said.

According to the minister, one of the opportunities for the sector’s recovery is the emergence of digital nomads who work without the constraints of time or place after being compelled to work from home and outside their office due to COVID-19-related activities restrictions.

The authorities are continuing to study various cities with the potential to become destinations for digital nomads, Uno said.

"(At present), Bali is one of the most favorite destinations for digital nomads," he noted.

The digital transformation trend has also contributed to the increasing number of startup companies in Indonesia, he said while pointing to the 2022 Startup Ranking Report, which deemed Indonesia as one of the ten countries with the most startups at 2,346.

"Ten of the companies are of unicorn status, and two start-up companies, GoTo (PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk) and J&T Express are of decacorn status," Uno said.

Moreover, more than 20 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have also gained access to the digital ecosystem in 2022, he added.

"This is consistent with President Joko Widodo's instruction targeting 20 million MSMEs gaining access to digital platforms in 2022, and the next target will be 30 million MSMEs by 2024," the minister said.

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Translator: M Baqir Idrus A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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