Sandiaga Uno Asked Jokowi To Development Tourism Villages Because It Was Proven Opening Many Fields

Emenparekraf encourages regional heads to develop tourist villages this year. (Photo: Doc. Kemenparekraf)

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno encouraged regional heads to pay great attention to the development of tourist villages, because they proved effective in encouraging economic revival and open employment opportunities for the community.

Menparekraf Sandiaga said tourism villages are a flagship program because they are proven to be a pandemic winner. Even in the midst of a pandemic situation, the level of tourist visits has increased significantly.

"The President has specifically also asked me for a list (tourism village). He at every working visit wants to see tourist villages or thematic villages," Sandiaga said in his official statement, Friday, January 27.

In the last two years, the level of tourist visits to tourist villages has increased by 30 to 50 percent, especially in Central Java, East Java, and West Java.

Sandiaga also gave an example of Tinalah Tourism Village in Kulonprogo Regency, DIY, where there was an increase in the number of tourists from 3,300 tourists in 2021 to 6,000 tourists throughout 2022.

Then, in Sembungan Tourism Village, Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, there will be an increase in the number of tourists from 105.000 tourists in 2021 to 140,000 tourists throughout 2022.

Next, in Ngingof Tourism Village, Southeast Maluku Regency, Maluku, there will be an increase in the number of tourists from 92,000 tourists in 2021 to 99,000 tourists throughout 2022.

Input is known to have increased by 100 percent from before. The Tondok Bawu Tourism Village in Mamasa Regency, West Sulawesi, also received up to 11,000 tourists throughout 2022, which peaked during the Christmas and New Year period which reached 10,000 tourists.

"We hope that tourist villages can encourage the achievement of the movement of domestic tourists, which this year is targeted to reach 1.4 billion movements. So, we must continue to encourage tourists from regencies to regencies," said Sandiaga.

"Our budget is indeed limited, but we must collaborate more. I beg you, tourist villages are also given special attention," he continued.

In addition to tourist villages, Sandiaga also encouraged regional heads to maximize the implementation of events to be attractive and well promoted.

Local governments, said Sandiaga, can collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, both in terms of activity support and training and assistance.

He explained that KolaborAksi is a routine program carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to be able to establish communication with local governments by synergizing programs between the central government and local governments in tourism development and the creative economy.

In KolaborAksi this time there were six regional heads, including from West Aceh Regency, Mojokerto City, Mojokerto Regency, Central Aceh Regency, Konawe Islands Regency, Biak Numfor Regency, and Berau Regency.

On that occasion, regional heads conveyed the potential and program plans that will be carried out in the development of tourism and the creative economy in their respective regions.

"This is the first collaboration in 2023. Every month, we always encourage this collaborative step, because we can learn from several regions about development and potential and can complement each other," said Sandiaga.

Meanwhile, Deputy for Destination Development and Infrastructure at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Vinsensius Jemadu said, in infrastructure development, which consists of elements 3A (Accessibility, Attraction, and Amenity), local governments can maximize one of the fiscal instruments, namely the physical Special Allocation Fund (DAK).

Vinsen asked the local government to prepare the various requirements needed. "Moreover, the regions that are already included in the lokpri (priority location) are dear, right, if they have entered the lokpri, but are not maximized, because the queues are almost 200 regencies/cities in 2023," he concluded.