Menparekraf Sandiaga Uno Introduces Rammang-Rammang Tourism Village To The World

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno on the last visit of a series of trips promoting tourist villages in the Indonesia Tourism Village Award 2021 introduced Geoparks and Rammang-Rammang Tourism Villages to the world through social media and live broadcasts with colleagues abroad.

"Along along the river in the Rammang-Rammang area, the minister introduced the second longest karst area in the world after China," said Maros Regent Chaidir Syam while accompanying the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy at a tourist village location in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, quoted from Antara, Friday, June 18. .

Rammang-Ramang is located in Rammang-Rammang Hamlet, Salenrang Village, Bontoa District, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi. Only 40 km from Makassar and approximately 10 km from Maros.

The tourist attraction of Ramang Ramang is a cluster of karst or limestone mountains. In the whole world, there are only three locations that have a fairly wide expanse of karst, one of which is in Maros. The other two are in Southern China and Vietnam. The Ramang Ramang karst cluster is the second largest limestone mountain after China.

The Indonesian National Committee for UNESCO has officially proposed the Maros-Pangkep National Geopark as a candidate for Global Geopark Indonesia.

The application was addressed to the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris as stated in letter 66600/A6/KS/2020 signed by the Executive Chairman for the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO Prof Arief Rachman.

Previously, the Ramang Ramang Geopark was designated as a National Geopark in November 2017.

"Judging from its potential, Rammang-Rammang should be included as a world-class tourist destination, because not all places have it. Currently we call it still sleeping and hidden. It is our job to wake it up and reveal its charm so that the world's citizens know the value of its rarity, its exoticism," said Sandiaga Uno on a working visit to the tourist village of Ramang Ramang.

Therefore, he continued, his party will include him in the 2021 Indonesian Tourism Village Award. Moreover, natural beauty is one of the assessment categories in the 2021 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI). Other categories are homestay, creative content, digital village, culinary, handicrafts, and CHSE.

The determination of these categories aims to encourage the development of tourist villages into sustainable tourism and as materials to improve quality that can be followed by all villages in Indonesia.

Currently, 231 villages have registered at ADWI 2021 since the registration was opened on May 22, 2021 until July 16, 2021.

ADWI also has a mission to build motivation for village development and become an economic driver at the rural level.

"For us, the tourism industry and economic revival start from tourist villages. We hope that this program will be able to open up economic opportunities, business fields, and employment opportunities as widely as possible," said Sandi.

Prospective registrant villages are also not only for new villages, but also pioneering, developing, and advanced tourism villages that have not registered in the 2021 ADWI program. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy noted that at least more than 700 tourist villages were included in the Indonesian Tourism Village data.

To make Rammang-Rammang a world-class tourist destination, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy will motivate residents to maintain the quality of homestays. Then, his party exposed it through digital platforms by content creators, one of which is currently the hottest couple Atta Halilintar and Thoriq Halilintar who have millions of subscribers.

His party will also build an internet network by making BTS towers to ensure that the internet connection which has been less strong and unstable in the tourist village of Ramang Ramang becomes stronger and more stable.

Sandiaga hopes that all of this will lead to efforts to revive the tourism village economy. The number of opportunities to bring tourists, both local and international, will increase the income of tourist village residents.

"For us, this is economic equity that is not directly touched by the ongoing national development program," said Sandiaga Uno.