Sandiaga Uno Provides Training To Capital Assistance For Cirebon Tourism Creative Entrepreneurs

JAKARTA - The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, encourages creative economy actors in Cirebon, West Java, to increase their skills capacity. This is to raise the potential, enthusiasm, and income of creative economic actors (ekraf) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sandiaga explained that the COVID-19 pandemic forced creative and creative actors to improve their skills and adapt in developing their businesses. One of them is through increasing skills by utilizing the marketplace as a means of selling.

Furthermore, Sandiaga said that the skills of marketing and selling goods through online have become an absolute must for creative creative actors at this time. But not only that, the skills to make product content as creative as possible on social media must also be improved so that consumer interest is higher.

"For this reason, Cirebon has become an icon of the tourism sector and creative economy with batik and culinary products. We must improve it, especially in the midst of a pandemic and economic difficulties," he said, quoted on Tuesday, June 1.

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, said Sandiaga, will come up with policies that are fair, to touch people in need, programs that are right on target and right on time for the tourism sector and the creative economy. Not only that, Sandiaga said his party also helped in terms of capital.

"The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has distributed the first tourism grants of IDR 2.2 trillion in 2020. And will propose a grant of IDR 3.7 trillion which will be expanded not only to hotels and restaurants.

According to Sandiaga, the government must be present to provide a touch of liquidity. "We are helping through tourism grants, we are currently mapping and we hope for assistance from the regency/city government to provide the latest data on creative economy actors in Cirebon," he said.

Sandiaga Uno hopes that creative economy actors in Cirebon Regency can improve the quality of their products through training and business assistance that will soon be held in the area.

"We have to innovate, adapt, and collaborate. We also have to do 3G, Gercep, Geber, Gaspol (moving fast, moving together, and working on all potentials). And tourism and creative economy actors have one need in common, namely training, assistance, and access to capital. This is what we will help through Kemenparekraf programs to open up the widest possible employment opportunities," he said.