28th September 2022 – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in early 2022 has doubled compared to 2021. According to him, this is an indication that human connectivity has bounced back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We welcome the revival of tourism that has begun to be felt, the number of international tourist arrivals coming to Indonesia at the beginning of the year has doubled compared to 2021,” he said in an online speech at the World Tourism Day 2022 event broadcasted on UNWTO YouTube on Tuesday (27/9).
However, the global challenges faced by the tourism sector are still a lot even though the Covid-19 pandemic has begun to subside. Among other things, inflation in various countries, expensive transportation fuel, unresolved geopolitical conflicts, and climate change that increasingly affecting all people’s lives.
According to Jokowi, all of these challenges need to be faced using creativity. Through innovation and global collaboration, tourism must be oriented towards inclusive and sustainable world economic growth.
He added that it must preserve local culture and local communities must be involved in an active role. This is aligned with this year’s theme of World Tourism Day which is, “Rethinking Tourism. “
Jokowi has said that the theme also coincided with the Indonesia G20 Presidency which is, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger.”
All parties must reassess how the tourism sector can become more resilient and improve the welfare of the community.
He added the revival of high-quality and sustainable tourism must be prioritized. Redesigning the revival of the sector requires hard work from all parties, and all stakeholders must start looking for ways to mitigate the emergence of changes due to the rapidly fast development of the world.
Jokowi ended his online speech on the UNWTO YouTube channel by wishing everyone a happy World Tourism Day 2022, enjoying the beauty of Bali and the charm of Indonesia.
