Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno has said that New Zealand is one of the most strategic markets that can support the growth of Indonesia’s tourism sector.
“If we can exploit this opportunity properly, Indonesia’s tourism and creative economy sectors can recover, and this will encourage the creation of 1.1 million new and quality jobs because the sectors have become the mainstay for some 40 percent of Indonesia’s population,” Uno highlighted during a meeting with the Ambassador of New Zealand to Indonesia, Kevin Burnett, according to a statement received here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the minister and the ambassador discussed opportunities that the two countries can explore in the tourism and creative economy sectors.
They discussed cooperation opportunities in terms of increasing the flight frequency, strategies for developing quality and environmentally sustainable tourism, sharing of best practices at educational institutions in the two countries, digitization, and marketing strategies to enhance awareness of the tourism sectors of Indonesia and New Zealand, Uno informed.
“We hope we can enhance collaboration to develop the tourism and creative economy aspects in the two countries, as well as to help promote and present quality and sustainable tourism,” the minister said.
He also called for New Zealand’s support for making the Indonesian G20 Presidency a success during the meeting.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Burnett expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to discuss cooperation opportunities in the tourism and creative economy sectors with Uno.
“Our national border has been fully reopened for tourists on July 31, 2022, and we are gradually welcoming again tourists to New Zealand. We hope we can redevelop the tourism and creative economy sectors, (which have been) declining due to the pandemic, with the cooperation that we forged,” Burnett remarked.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, the number of tourists from New Zealand staying in Indonesia for 10–11 days rose by 14 percent to reach 128,325 in 2018.
Source: Antara News