Denpasar, The Indonesia Herald - Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo encourages strengthening the handling of tourism issues in Bali, so that better mitigation can be done if obstacles occur.
In the Focus Group Discussion "Increasing the Resilience of Tourism Destinations through a Strategic Plan in Handling Tourism Issues in Bali" at the Bali Media Center, Bali Tourism Office, Denpasar, Monday (24/7/2023), Angela said reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the national economy in general, especially in Bali, it can be concluded that disasters have a huge impact on the tourism sector and the creative economy.
Therefore, Tourism and Creative Economy stakeholders need to handle crises and disasters swiftly and responsively in an effort to develop the tourism and creative economy sector.
"The opportunities in the tourism sector are extraordinary. Therefore, if we are serious about developing the tourism sector, we should be serious about tourism crisis management itself," Angela said.
In addition, Angela said that what often happens in Indonesia if the tourism crisis is not handled optimally is a decrease in the trust of tourists, the public, and investors. Therefore, there needs to be a strong commitment in terms of overcoming and preventing tourism crises.
"Because I believe that if we can prevent these crises, why not? But that does not mean we are not ready if this happens and we have steps to take so that we can respond more quickly and the losses that may occur can be minimized," he said.
Meanwhile, Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office Tjok Bagus Pemayun through the FGD is expected to provide solutions in an effort to overcome the tourism crisis in Bali. "So let's fix the Bali tourism ecosystem together and I hope the FGD can provide important strategies on the problems that occur in Bali tourism today," Bagus said.
The FGD was also filled with a cooperation agreement between Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) related to increasing collective awareness of the community in Tourism Destinations and Training and Rescue signed by Acting Deputy for Destination and Infrastructure Development of Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf Frans Teguh with Deputy for Search, Rescue and Preparedness Operations of Basarnas, Rear Admiral Ribut Eko Suyatno.
The event was attended by Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Expert Staff for Crisis Management, Fadjar Hutomo; Director of Destination Governance and Sustainable Tourism, Indra Ni Tua; Secretary of the Deputy for Destination and Infrastructure Development, Oneng Setya Harini; Head of Communication Bureau, I Gusti Ayu Dewi Hendriyani; and representatives of the Bali Tourism Governance Task Force.