"I set Iboih village as the best tourism village, and we believe that tourist visits will increase here," he remarked during a visit to the village as part of his ministry's 2023 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) tour.
During the visit, he signed an inscription stone stating that Iboih Village has been declared the best tourism village this year. He was accompanied by acting Mayor of Sabang Reza Fahlevi, and Aceh's Head of Culture and Tourism Almuniza Kamal.
Iboih Village being judged the best village in ADWI will have an impact on local welfare as the number of tourist visits would likely increase, Uno explained.
He also handed over a laptop as assistance to Iboih Village's Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis) and electric fans to several homestays in Aneuk Laot Tourism Village.
He said the number of villages participating in this year's ADWI increased significantly from the previous year to reach 4,573, exceeding the ministry's target of establishing four thousand tourism villages throughout Indonesia.
At least 3,419 villages participated in ADWI in 2022 and 1,831 villages in 2021.
"The enthusiasm of thousands of tourism villages can ease the development of tourism villages in Indonesia. With the spirit of collaboration and synergy, the participants of the Indonesian Tourism Village Award increased sharply," the minister explained.
ADWI is one of the leading programs for supporting Indonesia's economic revival and tourism development, he added.
This year, ADWI was held with the theme of “Economic Revival from Villages for a Rising Indonesia.”
He said the program can help the realization of "Indonesia as a world-class tourism destination that is globally competitive, sustainable, and able to encourage regional development and people's welfare" vision.
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Translator: M Ifdhal, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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