Jakarta, September 20th 2022 -
Indonesia, in particular, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MOTCE) is again a focal point in the 2nd Tourism Working Group (TWG) which will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, on September 23, 2022.
The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, in a statement, Tuesday (20/9/2022), stated that the tourism and creative economy are economic drivers and job creators, not only in Indonesia but throughout the world.
"Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was one of the most critical sectors in the world economy. It contributed 10 percent of global GDP and absorbed more than 320 million jobs worldwide," according to Minister Sandiaga.
Thus, TWG, which is one of the working groups of the Indonesian Presidency at the 2022 G20 Summit, brought up the main issue to be discussed at the meeting, namely the strengthening of communities and MSMEs as agents of transformation of tourism and creative economy, so that economic recovery must be centered on the community and is expected to be able to prosper them.
However, he mentioned data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) which showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had put 100 million tourism and creative economy workers in unfavorable conditions. The MSME businesses is also sluggish due to restrictions on community mobility.
"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," he added.
The result of the 2nd TWG is in the form of finalization of the preparation of the G20 Bali Guideline in which there are various strategic policies collected from G20 member countries. It will be agreed by the Ministers at the Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM) which is the final series of the Tourism Working Group. TMM itself is scheduled to take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, on September 26, 2022.
"We hope that this meeting will result in a mutual agreement among the G20 member countries to overcome the existing challenges thoroughly by prioritizing collaboration and sustainability," Sandiaga said.
In this TWG activity, the MOTCE provides souvenir support in the form 50 scarves for the companions of the G20 Summit TWG delegation. The souvenir scarf is a Lasem hand-drawn batik scarf produced by the Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) with Maranatha University, Bandung, and batik artisans in Lasem, Central Java.
"This is incredible and is a concrete step, because it is in accordance with the theme of the Tourism Working Group, namely strengthening communities and MSMEs through tourism and culture by strengthening the people's economy," he continued.
In addition to TWG and TMM, there will also be the 42nd World Tourism Day which will take place in Bali on September 27, 2022. Because this year Indonesia is appointed to host the celebration of World Tourism Day for the first time.
"Of course, the celebration of this World Tourism Day belongs to all of us, the Indonesian people as part of the world community. And the success of World Tourism Day 2022 will be the success of all of us and all Indonesian tourism people," Sandiaga said.
