According to a press release of the Tourism and Creative Ministry on Tuesday, Uno held a meeting with representatives of the Japan Tourism Agency at the agency’s office in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday (March 4).
Uno projected that the arrivals of foreign tourists from Japan in 2024 will continue to increase, reaching up to 500 thousand, so to realize this, cooperation with the Japan Tourism Agency is deemed necessary.
“Of course, it is also strengthened by cooperation frameworks like memoranda of cooperation or memoranda of understanding between Japan and Indonesia so as to push benefits for the two countries,” he remarked.
The scope of potential cooperation includes exchanging experiences and knowledge in organizing large-scale events, training, and education programs to improve the human resources’ skills in the hospitality and tourism sectors as well as connectivity.
The minister said he was impressed by Japan’s ways of packaging international events, such as the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and Taylor Swift’s concert.
“Through collaboration, of course, we hope tourist arrivals will increase, and jobs can be created,” he stated.
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As per the ministry’s data, Japan is one of the countries with the biggest contribution to Indonesia’s foreign tourist arrivals, reaching 220 thousand in 2023.
Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, Ichiro Takahashi, assessed that Indonesia’s human resources have excellent potential and are an essential capital to establish cooperation. This has also been strengthened by several Indonesian migrant workers working in Japan, especially in the hospitality sector.
Furthermore, he said, Japan is learning from Indonesia’s G20 presidency in 2022, where Indonesia issued a document that discusses Community-Based Tourism.
He noted that Indonesia is an important partner of Japan in the tourism sector. Moreover, Indonesia is among the leading tourist destinations in Southeast Asia.
He also welcomed Uno’s proposal to immediately create a cooperation agreement.
Takahashi affirmed that Japan is seeking to increase tourism cooperation with other countries, including Indonesia.
Related news: Indonesia, Malaysia strengthen tourism sector through cooperation
Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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