Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno has confirmed government targets for domestic and international tourists in 2023, which forecast double the current numbers. A key takeaway from the minister’s comments is that Indonesia is expecting around 7.4 million travellers from the inbound market this year.
“All tourism and the creative economy operators must address these (targets),” said the minister in a recent statement, which provided a rallying call to the tourism industry. “Don’t let us get left behind! We must prepare to create new business opportunities that create the widest employment opportunities,” he added.
Sandiaga remains upbeat about the country’s prospects for the year ahead: “this is the basis of our continuing optimism; the tourism ecosystem and creative economy must be prepared, starting now,” he said, before outlining a clear set of principles that can guide expansion and deliver the targeted numbers of arrivals. “This is our homework, so that tourism recovery takes place more equitably, emphasizing quality and sustainability.”
He went on to explain that recent infrastructure developments have a key role to play in accommodating the growing number of arrivals, citing a new toll road in Bali that’s scheduled for completion in 2025. “We need to get ready, because Jembrana will be along the toll road connecting Denpasar and Gilimanuk. We must prepare a tourism ecosystem as many things will soon be relocating to West Bali.”
Sandiaga Uno is the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and the Creative Economy. He made his comments during a visit to Jembrana Regency in Bali on Thursday, 29 December 2022, and in a later interview with BeritaBali.com. The topic of discussion was how developments can help achieve a more equitable distribution of tourism access across all areas of Bali, in the wider context of tourism prospects and targets for inbound tourism nationwide.
