Asking To Build Infrastructure For Local Tourism In Madura, Erick Thohir: Not Anti-Foreign, But Encouraging Partisanship For Local Tourists

SOE Minister Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Antara/Ministry of SOEs)

JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir encourages infrastructure development for local tourism on Madura Island, considering that local tourist transactions are much larger than foreign tourists.

"Alhamdulillah, as in Madura itself, we hope that in the future there will be infrastructure development for local tourism or local tourism. We are trying to push this forward," said Erick Thohir, quoted by Antara, Saturday, February 19.

According to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, so far we have focused on foreign tourists, this mentality must be improved, considering that local tourist transactions reach Rp. 1,400 trillion, while foreign tourists are only Rp. 300 trillion.

"Usually Indonesians always leave the country, that's wrong. We want to rebuild local tourism. About 72 percent of tourists in Indonesia are local, while 22 percent are foreign tourists," said Erick.

The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises emphasized that he is not anti-foreign, but encourages greater support for local tourists. Erick Thohir wants the Indonesian nation to become a nation that respects its own nation, building the strength of Indonesian culture.

"We must also learn from China. China was when there was a crisis, local products went up. Right now there is a COVID-19 pandemic, we must encourage local products to be of interest to the Indonesian people, especially now we are all not allowed to go abroad," said Erick Thohir .

The Minister of SOEs also invited local governments to be proactive in inviting investors to build infrastructure for local tourism in their respective regions.

"Local governments can also be pro-active in inviting investors," said Erick Thohir.