"The revocation of PPKM comes as a breath of fresh air for tourists. Psychologically, it will affect tourists, with the assumption that the status of the COVID-19 (pandemic) in Indonesia is very under control," he noted when contacted on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, he highlighted that the ministry continues to remind people to prioritize their health and safety.
"We will promote the CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment Sustainability) certification program and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic," he affirmed.
To this end, the ministry is optimistic and will strive for doubled growth in the tourism sector this year.
Uno is sanguine that the revocation of PPKM would boost the arrivals of foreign tourists and the trips of domestic tourists.
According to the minister, this year, his ministry is targeting the number of foreign tourist arrivals to increase to 3.5-7.4 million. Meanwhile, the trips of domestic tourists are targeted to reach 1.2 to 1.4 billion.
He noted that during the Chinese New Year holiday period, an increase in the number of visitors was recorded at several popular tourist destinations.
The increase during the CNY holiday period has boosted the ministry's optimism about the rise in the number of tourist arrivals and trips this year.
"As of January 23, 2023, as many as 956 domestic and foreign tourists have visited the Thousand Islands area to spend the 2023 Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday," he stated.
He further noted that the Tourism Office of Gunungkidul District, Yogyakarta, recorded as many as 37,878 tourists vacationing in the region during the CNY holiday.
"The public relations of Ragunan zoo reported an increase in the number of visitors during the CNY 2023 period. On Sunday, January 22, the total number of visitors reached 61,026 people," he remarked.
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Translator: Lifia Mawaddah, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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