"The ASEAN Summit itself yields an outstanding effect. The (region's) hotel occupancy rate reaches 100 percent," Uno said at The Weekly Brief with Uno here, Monday (May 8).
He noted that the government had readied various hotels and shipping vessels as floating hotels to accommodate the summit participants.
Meanwhile, the minister remarked that the ASEAN Summit could bolster tourists' arrivals to Labuan Bajo through the Komodo International Airport to help achieve the target of 1.1 million tourists annually.
"However, we must be mindful of this because the Komodo National Park can only support 200 thousand (tourists)," Uno stressed.
The increase in tourism arrivals to the region during the summit is expected to reach 10-20 percent, the minister said, adding that he expects the trend to continue to achieve the target of 1.1 million tourists.
More international flights and flight seats will be available for flying to Labuan Bajo from Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia, he stated.
Uno also expressed hope that the increase in tourist arrivals to Labuan Bajo would contribute to fulfilling the target of 4.4 million new jobs by 2024.
Indonesia, the ASEAN chair for 2023, is hosting the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo on May 9-11, 2023. The series of activities began with the arrival of delegates to Labuan Bajo on May 6.
ASEAN region's 13 state heads are expected to arrive at Labuan Bajo on May 9 following meetings attended by delegates on May 7-8.
The main agenda for the summit starts on May 10-11 at the Meruorah Hotel, one of the three hotels designated as the summit's venue.
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Translator: Sinta Ambarwati, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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