"Furthermore, it (the development) can encourage parties to promote Bali's gastronomic, cultural, and agricultural potentials," Siagian noted in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday.
According to Siagian, the government has been exerting optimal efforts in preparing the development of Ubud as a world-standard gastronomic tourist destination by undertaking three preparation phases: analysis and diagnosis, technical design arrangement, and business plan development.
"The first two phases are complete. Now, we are currently working on the final phase that is projected to be complete by September 2023," Siagian remarked at the Kick-off Meeting of the Follow-up to the Pilot Project of Ubud Development as UNWTO's Gastronomic Tourist Destination.
In order to optimize gastronomic tourism in Ubud, Siagian underscored three important points, including good planning with clear and measurable target achievements. Meanwhile, the second point concerns the establishment of a destination management organization (DMO) to optimize coordination among stakeholders.
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As for the third point, he laid emphasis on the importance of massive efforts to build public communication.
"Gastronomy should be the main driver of tourists to come visit Ubud," he noted.
Siagian said he was optimistic that strong collaboration between the government and all stakeholders would help Ubud become the world's gastronomic tourist destination that will, in turn, boost the economy of the people.
In future, the development is expected to be emulated by other regions, especially those designated as super priority tourist destinations (DPSPs), namely Toba Lake, Borobudur Temple, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, and Likupang.
In 2018, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) signed a cooperation agreement with Indonesia to develop gastronomic tourism in Ubud. The UNWTO also expressed its willingness to provide a study to help Ubud transform into a gastronomic tourist destination.
Gastronomic tourism is an art of comprehensively studying foods in every production process, starting from the preparation, ingredient selection, cooking process, as well as the art of the foods' presentation, aesthetics, and quality.
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Translator: indra Arief, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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