Indonesia And ASEAN Countries Push For Post-pandemic Tourism Recovery

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JAKARTA - Director of Information for Political Communication, Law and Security, Directorate General of Information and Public Communication (IKP), Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) Bambang Gunawan said, Indonesia and ASEAN member countries have made various efforts to overcome problems that arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. , as well as post-pandemic recovery including post-COVID-19 recovery plans for ASEAN Tourism.

This was conveyed in his remarks at the Webinar Series #3 ASEAN Talk with the theme “ASEAN Visa Free and Tourism Recovery Acceleration” in Bali (22/06).

The post-COVID-19 recovery is designed to help the ASEAN region safely reopen the tourism sector while still supporting the implementation of existing frameworks, such as the 2016–2025 ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan.

"The post-pandemic recovery issue will remain a test of welcoming Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023. Consolidation between and among ASEAN pillars must be intensified to be able to produce deliverables and leadership legacy that are useful and can benefit the people of Indonesia, ASEAN, and the world," he explained.

So according to him, in accordance with the mandate of Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2015 concerning the Management of Public Information, the Director of Information and Communication of Polhukam in collaboration with the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Udayana University organized this webinar.

"This outreach is expected to increase public understanding of ASEAN's efforts to make various post-pandemic improvements, especially in the tourism sector," he said.

Previously, the event was preceded by remarks from the Dean of FISIP, Udayana University, I Nengah Punia, who said that the impact of COVID-19 on the Indonesian people, especially the Balinese, was in the economic sector, because the source of income for Balinese people is from the tourism sector.

"With the government's policy of providing visa freedom, especially in the ASEAN region, the recovery and acceleration of tourism in Bali has begun to be felt. In May this Balinese economy has started to be in a positive situation and condition, he explained.

Therefore, according to him, if the COVID-19 situation and conditions can be contained as it is today, the economy of Bali and Indonesia in general will experience a tremendous increase.

According to him, the government's policy in optimizing the acceleration of tourism in Indonesia is a very good and advanced step, which can be felt especially in several tourism areas which are now starting to grow and live.

He also said that this webinar is a form of socialization among Balinese people, especially the academic community in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Udayana University. For this reason, he hopes that the webinar participants can participate in socializing the activities and activities that have been carried out by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, so that the public knows the steps to be taken in dealing with the current situation.

Resource persons attending this webinar included the Director of the Directorate of ASEAN Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Berlianto Pandapotan Hasudungan; Young Expert Immigration Analyst, Directorate of Immigration Traffic, Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Wachid Kuntjoro Djati; Head of Marketing Division of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, Ida Ayu Indah Yustikarini; and Academician of the Department of International Relations, Udayana University, AAB Surya Widya Nugraha.

Berlianto Pandapotan Hasudungan said that positive economic growth in ASEAN was driven by the acceleration and increase in vaccinations that support population mobility, even for cross-border travel. As of April this year, as many as 64 percent of the 660 million population of ASEAN have received a full dose of vaccination.

"This is expected to strengthen public confidence in carrying out economic mobility, including in the tourism sector," he explained.

Berlianto also hopes that the COVID-19 condition in Bali can be handled properly to encourage more solid economic growth, especially in the tourism sector. Previously, post-pandemic economic growth in Bali increased to 1.25 percent and is projected to reach 5-6 percent this year.

In April 2022, there were 111,057 foreign tourists coming to Indonesia, the majority of whom went through Ngurah Rai Airport.

According to him, this is a signal for the rise of tourism in the Bali Province.

Wachid Kuntjoro Djati revealed, at this time, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, in this case the Directorate General of Immigration, has imposed a Free Visit Visa (BVK) and Visit Visa on Arrival (Visa on Arrival/VoA) on a limited basis since January 2022 to support the concept of sustainable tourism. .

"Currently BVK and VoA can be used for tourism activities or attending government or state meetings or conferences in Indonesia," he explained.

This BVK and VoA are applied to foreigners who are citizens of countries with criteria, including countries that provide facilities or facilities to Indonesian citizens, countries with High Tourism Spender criteria, ASEAN countries, and G20 countries.

In the next session, Ida Ayu Indah Yustikarini revealed that in supporting the rise of tourism in Bali, the Bali Provincial Tourism Office during the COVID-19 pandemic had done several things, such as preparing tourism facilities including hotels, villas, tourist lodges, restaurants, tourist attractions. to implement health protocols with CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, Environment) standards in accordance with WHO standards and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia.

In addition, the Bali Provincial Tourism Office also carries out solid cooperation between various institutions and organizations, be it the Government, Military or Police, as well as tourism actors and the community.

Regarding the health readiness of the Balinese people, he said that 70% of Balinese people had received booster vaccinations as of June 22, 2022. As for the COVID-19 case, although it was still fluctuating, the Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR) tends to decrease.

The most updated effort made by the Bali Provincial Government is to reaffirm the Regional Regulations related to sustainable tourism.

"Because sustainable tourism is tourism that can provide welfare to the community but does not reduce or degrade the cultural, natural, and local wisdom values of the community," he explained.

The Bali Provincial Tourism Office has also drawn up strategic steps for tourism recovery, both short and long term, as well as making efforts to promote tourism digitally.

AAB Surya Widya Nugraha said ASEAN is a potential market because the productive age group is quite high in Southeast Asia and Asia in general. So that Southeast Asia becomes one of the regions that are considered capable of having a fairly strong future in international politics.

Regarding Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN, he is of the opinion that this is a strategic position that it has that can be utilized, especially to encourage intra-ASEAN trade, which is currently starting to increase.

"So with this chairmanship, coupled with the G20 Presidency, Indonesia's position is very interesting in 2023. Hopefully this can be maximized so that we are not only rule takers but also rule makers," he said.

In addition to providing material and asking questions by resource persons, the event was also enlivened by quizzes with prizes which were attended by all webinar participants from students, university students, and the general public.

This Webinar Series #3 ASEAN Talk was held in a hybrid manner (offline and online) at the FISIP Building, Udayana University, Bali, and can be watched live through the Zoom Meeting application and the YouTube channel of the Directorate General of Communications and Information Technology.