Bali, 23rd September 2022 –
Indonesia as the holder of the G20 Summit Presidency in 2022 begins the 2nd Tourism Working Group meeting which is held by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency as a follow-up meeting of the 1st TWG which was successfully held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), in May 2022.
A number of delegates attended the 2nd TWG which took place on Friday (23/9/2022) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Bali were warmly welcomed by the Chair of G20 TWG, Frans Teguh. He also greeted delegates from each of the G20 member countries, guest countries, and international organizations one by one.
On that occasion, he symbolically handed over mangrove seedlings to UNWTO representatives, the former Head of Delegate (HoD) of the G20 namely India, and the Head of Delegate (HoD) of the next G20, India. These mangrove seedlings are supported and will be planted by Traveloka as part of its support for sustainability issues.
The delivery of these mangrove seedlings indicates that the future of tourism must be more inclusive and sustainable.
"This is because the tourism sector is very vulnerable to climate change and at the same time contributes to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Therefore, acceleration of climate action in tourism is crucial for the resilience of this sector," according to the Chair of G20 TWG, Frans Teguh, in a statement in Bali, Friday (23/9/2022).
The Indonesian Government itself has taken action to tackle climate change by encouraging collaborative efforts between the public, private sector, and communities, to achieve low carbon emissions and climate resilience by 2050.
Mangroves are one of the top three carbon-capturing ecosystems on earth and absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO2). Indonesia has 3.5 million hectares of mangrove land, equivalent to about 23 percent of the total of in the world. Indonesia's mangroves are said to be the most diverse with 92 true mangrove species.
Through the delivery of mangroves to UNWTO, Head of Delegate (HoD) G20 Italia, and Head of Delegate (HoD) G20 India as Troika, it is expected to increase awareness to protect the environment, especially in tourism destinations and realize sustainable tourism.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, in a statement, explained that TWG, which is one of the working groups of the Indonesian presidency at the 2022 G20 Summit, will be a forum for exchanging ideas and best practices carried out by G20 member countries as well as guest countries and international institutions.
In the 2nd TWG, the main issue to discuss is the strengthening of communities and MSMEs as agents of transformation of tourism and creative economy, so that economic recovery must be community-centered, and is expected to have an impact on improving the economy of the community.
"Therefore, together with G20 member countries, we need to design a best practice on how we can strengthen the tourism and creative economy sector from the community and MSME sides, so that they are able to become agents of change or local champions in encouraging economic recovery and creating wider employment opportunities," according to Minister Sandiaga.
The participants attending the 2nd TWG, both online and offline, were 71 participants. These include G20 member countries namely India, Italy, Australia, Canada, European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, and Turkey.
Also present were guest countries from Singapore, Spain, UEA, and Fiji. Among the international organization attending the event included the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
