In Order For Indonesian Tourism To Increase, The Government Must Press Ticket Prices

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission VII DPR RI, Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo asked the Government to maximize tourism digitization efforts with technological innovation. He is also to increase hospitality and ease of access to tourism in Indonesia, including from transportation ticket prices to tourist attractions.

"The issue of digitalization is very important. Digital not only makes it easier for tourists but also supports the management of tourism data efficiently," said Rahayu Saraswati, Friday, November 22.

According to the woman who is familiarly called Sara, digitalization can make a big contribution in formulating data-based tourism policies that are right on target. She then gave an example of what China has done in terms of digitization in order to strengthen their tourism.

"When I visited China to enter Forbidden City, I only needed to use a passport. The process is fast and not troublesome. In Indonesia, we can also use ID cards for similar purposes," said Sara.

"With digitization, we can have accurate data and find out which tourist destinations have been visited by tourists," he continued.

Sara said that the advantage of tourism is the friendliness of tourism actors or activists. For this reason, she encourages the Government to pay more attention to Indonesian tourism hospitality, one of which is through improving the quality of tourism service education in the country.

"With the hospitality of the Indonesian people, I believe it can be a competitive advantage in the international world. Because our hospitality is actually one of the best in the world, even being able to beat Switzerland," Sara said.

The leadership of the Commission in the DPR in charge of industrial affairs, MSMEs, and tourism also touched on the success of Poltekpar majoring in hospitality which is ranked 5th best in the world. According to Sara, the aspect of hospitality is Indonesia's pride so it must be further developed.

"This is also what I conveyed at the Commission VII Working Meeting of the DPR RI with the Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Widiyanti Putri Wardhana yesterday, that there is a need for cooperation and collaboration from various relevant ministries if we want to increase GDP from the tourism sector, Kemenpar cannot be alone," he explained.

"So this is indeed a lot related to policies. So other ministries and institutions together with local governments must be able to be in line with what is the vision of the center," added Sara.

In addition, Sara highlighted the importance of the role of the Ministry of Tourism in encouraging policies that can increase tourism in Indonesia.

"I hope that the Government can provide education to foreign and domestic tourists about Indonesia's geography that cannot be juxtaposed with other Asian countries," said the legislator from the DKI III electoral district.

Sara then mentioned the many public complaints regarding the high price of plane tickets to leading destinations in the regions. He said this could not be separated because Indonesia's geography was longer than other countries such as China or Japan.

"Indonesia's challenge in increasing the number of tourism is ticket prices. The government must be able to reduce transportation prices, and encourage access to tourist areas," Sara concluded.