Jakarta. As the national tourism has been idle for months amid global coronavirus lockdown, the Indonesian government has taken its time to improve safety standards in resort areas to maintain the maximum state of preparedness for when the global travel resumes.

Knowing that safety and health issues will become the biggest concern among global tourists in the post-pandemic era, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio led an event of Thursday to coordinate efforts among state agencies and other related institutions to get prepared for the new challenges.

Taking place in the newly-developed Labuan Bajo beach resort in East Nusa Tenggara, the event rehearsed anticipated emergency scenarios, including rescue operations in the case of earthquake and tsunami.

The emergency drill involved members of the Indonesian Military, the National Police, the National Search and Rescue Agency, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

The coronavirus pandemic will drastically change the way tourism business is run because health issues and safety will take precedence, Wishnutama said.

The drill also trained non-medical personnel to practice emergency handling of tourists suffering heart attacks.

Helicopters and ship were deployed to conduct emergency evacuation drill for serious marine accident.

Improved safety standards and proper implementation of the health protocol will help Indonesia regain confidence among international tourists, he added.

“We need to adopt a new strategy for the tourism industry so that we can do better after the pandemic is over,” the minister said.