Ministry Promotes Sustainable Tourism Development Beyond Bali at Annual Travel Fair
Denpasar. The Ministry of Tourism is marketing priority holiday destinations across the archipelago at the annual Bali and Beyond Travel Fair at the Nusa Dua Convention Center in Bali, which started on Wednesday (07/06) and will conclude on June 11.
The ministry's deputy of overseas tourism development, I Gde Pitana, said on Thursday that up to 20 million tourists are expected to visit the archipelago by 2020.
"Tourism will be the biggest contributor of foreign exchange earnings in Indonesia. Compared to oil and coal, tourism is the only growing sector [...] We aim to create 30 million jobs, contributing to 50 percent of gross domestic product," Pitana said.
The plan to develop destinations other than Bali, which is by far the country's most touristed destination, is in line with ministry efforts to build more sustainable development sectors and bolster local economies in far-reaching provinces.
"This means that we are encouraging developers to build green hotels, homestays in villages and revitalizing local wisdom. We are hoping these aspects will appeal to more visitors," he said.
Pitana said the ministry is overhauling its marketing campaign to cater to foreigners who seek environmentally friendly or nature-oriented destinations, such as Mount Bromo in East Java and Tanjung Puting in Central Kalimantan.
"Tourists tend to spend a short length of time in urban areas, maybe only three days, but they will often spend more than two weeks at eco-friendly destinations," he said.
Since 2007, the Tourism Ministry has partnered with Switzerland-based Swiss Contact to enhance economic, social and environmental developments in destinations beyond Bali.
In 2009, the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) partially invested in tourism developments on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara. That initiative has since been expanded to include funding to developments in Tanjung Puting, Toraja in South Sulawesi and Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi.
Swiss Contact's Ruedi Nutzi said the organization aims to strengthen tourism competitiveness by enhancing education and training for hospitality professionals. Programs helmed by the agency typically create local jobs and improve the livelihoods of local communities.
Nutzi is optimistic that Indonesia will develop sustainable systems to accommodate growing numbers of tourists in coming years.
"[Indonesia] has already seen an increase of foreign tourists, and local jobs to cater to them," he said.
Up to 188 sellers from 19 provinces across the archipelago are participating in this year's travel fair, whose committee has attracted as many as 260 tour operators to attend the event from countries such as Australia, Russi, China, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and others.
Pitana said he hopes to see more sellers and buyers from overseas at next year's fair.
"More and more are attending this fair. But in the future, we should invite sellers and buyers from overseas so this event can become an international event," he said.
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