This year, there will be 110 KEN (festivals) as well as 65 sports, music, and creative events held all over Indonesia...Jakarta (ANTARA) - The year 2023 is expected to be an opportune time for recovering and expediting the growth of Indonesia's tourism sector, with the government planning to hold several prominent tourism events, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said.
"This year will be a moment of revival for Indonesian tourism," he remarked virtually at the launch of the Karisma Event Nusantara (KEN) Festival 2023 on Saturday.
The government has also launched the Proud of Indonesia-Made Products National Movement (Gernas BBI) to get more people to visit domestic tourism destinations, thus the number of domestic tourists is expected to double compared to 2022.
Hence, collaboration and cooperation are required to improve the quality of destinations, hold more attractive tourism activities and events, as well as increase business competitiveness through innovation and creativity, the President said.
"This year, there will be 110 KEN (festivals) as well as 65 sports, music, and creative events held all over Indonesia, which can be a magnet to attract as many foreign and domestic tourists as possible to come and enjoy the uniqueness of tourism throughout this country," he added.
Widodo said he believes that efforts to improve tourism facilities and infrastructure, ease transportation and connectivity, as well as strengthen the preparedness of human resources and accommodation will help make the tourism and creative economy sectors script a stronger recovery.
“By saying Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), I launch KEN 2023 today," he added.
Earlier, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said that the government will hold several international events to achieve this year's target of 7.4 million international tourist arrivals.
The government is targeting to earn foreign exchange of US$500 million from sports tourism, he informed.
It has been confirmed that several international-level sports events will be held in Indonesia in 2023, including the F1 Powerboat, the U-20 FIFA World Cup, the FIBA World Cup, the ANOC World Beach Games, the MotoGP, as well as the World Superbike (WSBK) race.
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Translator: Baqir Alatas, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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