JAKARTA - Indonesia's tourism potential lies not only in natural beauty, but also in cultural wealth spread across various regions.
Starting from historical sites to traditions that are still alive in the community, everything is a unique attraction that can be developed as a cultural-based tourism as well as encouraging economic growth.
Minister of Culture Fadli Zon assessed that Indonesia's cultural wealth has great opportunities to become a driving force for the tourism sector.
He said that the potential includes various historical relics, including the world's oldest ancient painting estimated to be around 67,800 years old on Muna Island, to various cultural reserves and living heritage throughout the country.
In addition, the diversity of Indonesian culture is also reflected in thousands of intangible cultural heritages that have been recorded nationally, with some of them having been recognized by UNESCO.
According to Fadli, the cultural tourism sector has a large economic value if managed properly.
"Cultural tourism has enormous economic potential. For example, the management of the Versailles Palace in France is able to generate around 30 billion rupiah per day from ticket sales, not including income from merchandise. This shows that culture can be part of economic strengthening through the development of cultural economy and creative industries," he said, as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, April 30.
The statement was delivered at the first National Congress and seminar of the Indonesian Cultural Tourism Care Association (PEWIBI). He emphasized that the development of a culture-based economy requires cross-sectoral collaboration, ranging from the government, business actors, academics, communities, to the media.
Fadli also highlighted the importance of opening up opportunities for cooperation between the government and the private sector in the management and revitalization of cultural sites. According to him, the involvement of various parties, including corporations and individuals who have a concern for culture, can accelerate the development of this sector.
Furthermore, he encouraged that cultural sites are not only maintained as static monuments, but also developed into a living heritage that is relevant to the lives of people today.
"Cultural development cannot be carried out by the government alone. A healthy cultural ecosystem needs collaboration across sectors, from the government, civil society, SOEs, business, private sector, corporations, media, academics, and communities," he said.
On this occasion, PEWIBI also gave the 2026 Cultural Figure award to Fadli Zon as a form of appreciation for his contribution to the development of the cultural sector in Indonesia.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
