Indonesia's tourism sector will not recover without contributions from oneself, travel agents, the people, and other stakeholders, he remarked.
"I encourage all of you here to support the national tourism recovery," Thohir stated while opening the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair organized by the national flag carrier here Friday.
As one of the most populous countries, with a population of 273 million, Indonesia must not solely be the consumer in the market, particularly in the tourism sector, he remarked.
The minister said that while residents are free to spend their holidays overseas, they are also expected to spend more off days by visiting domestic tourism destinations.
"Indonesia is (a country) with outstanding tourism destinations, and the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized that a good tourism destination is one that is close to nature or has wellness characteristics," Thohir remarked.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had urged regional leaders to encourage more residents to spend their holidays in Indonesia to prevent a deficit in the national tourism sector. The president also pointed to the habit of government officials to spend holidays overseas.
Indonesia has various high-quality tourist destinations -- Bali, Labuan Bajo, Wakatobi, Lake Toba, Raja Ampat, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, and the Borobudur Temple -- that could be preferred by residents over overseas destinations, he stated.
Meanwhile, according to the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data as per September 2022, some 1,273,596 foreign tourists visited Indonesia during the January-July 2022 period, increasing by 49 percent from 854,073 foreign tourist visits recorded during the same period in 2021.
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Translator: Aji Cakti, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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