Ridwan Kamil Targets 40 Million Tourists To West Java By 2022

BANDUNG - West Java Governor, M Ridwan Kamil, is optimistic that 2022 will be the year of economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, thus targeting 40 million tourist visits to his region.

"Hopefully the contribution of West Java tourism in 2022 can increase. Our target is between 36 million to 40 million tourists. Hopefully it will continue to increase, so that it reaches the level that was at its peak in 2018, around 60 million", he said at the launch of the West Java Calendar of Event 2022 in Bandung City, West Java, reported by Antara on Tuesday, February 15..

Several indicators make Ridwan optimistic that the tourism sector can rise and reap many tourists.

First, if the COVID-19 pandemic slows down, then the next is economic growth rebounding again.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the West Java economy in 2021 grew 3.74 percent or improved when compared to the previous year which experienced a contraction of 2.52 percent (year on year/YoY).

"Our economy has grown above three percent. God willing, the Omicron variant is under control and the hospital occupancy rate is not too high, only 20 percent", he said.

Therefore, Kang Emil, as Ridwan Kamil is called, invites all parties to jointly promote West Java tourism. For example, from the perspective of the general public, he invited him to return to West Java.

However, Kang Emil also reminded the importance of complying with health protocols such as wearing masks to maintain distance. The reason is, at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia is still not completely over.

Meanwhile, for the managers of tourist attractions, Ridwan advised being consistent in the application of health protocol discipline. An example is in the implementation of the PeduliLindungi application which needs to be maximized again.

"Please encourage friends, please travel, but still discipline the health protocol for tourists. For tourism managers, please (implementation) PeduliLindungi application is maximized", he said.

"So, we can sort out which visitors have the potential for COVID-19 and which are safe. That way, we can move on and be productive in developing West Java tourism", he continued.

Kang Emil also mentioned that, from the government side, the West Java Provincial Government will again build some infrastructure to support tourism. Not only that but several events will be held to attract tourists to West Java.

"We want to restore, develop and build tourism facilities because West Java has the capacity to become the best province of the tourism economy", he said.

"There are 50 big agendas that we have curated. Actually, there are 500, but those curated to represent the face of West Java tourism are approximately 50 from all cities/districts. One of them is a tourist village that will be the pride of West Java, and now it is also a trend, namely outdoor activities", continued Kang Emil.