Indonesia through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) is again the focal point in the 2nd Tourism Working Group (TWG) which will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali on 23 September 2022.

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Menparekraf/Kabaparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno in his statement on Tuesday (20/9/2022) said tourism and the creative economy are economic drivers and job creators, not only in Indonesia, but all over the world.

"Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was one of the most important sectors in the world economy. It contributed 10 percent of global GDP and absorbed more than 320 million jobs worldwide," said the Minister.

So TWG, which is one of the working groups of the Indonesian Presidency at the 2022 G20 Summit, brought up the main issue to be discussed at the meeting, namely the strengthening of communities and MSMEs as agents of transformation of tourism and the creative economy, so that economic recovery must be centered on the community and is expected to be able to prosper the community.

However, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy mentioned data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) which showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had put 100 million tourism and creative workers in unfavorable conditions. The MSME business is also sluggish due to restrictions on community mobility.

"Therefore, together with G20 member countries, we need to design a best practice on how we can strengthen the tourism sector from the community side and also MSMEs so that they are able to become agents of change or local champions in encouraging economic recovery and opening up wider employment opportunities. "said Menparekraf Sandiaga.

The result of the 2nd TWG is in the form of finalizing the preparation of the G20 Bali Guidline in which there are various strategic policies collected from G20 member countries. And it will be agreed by the Ministers at the Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM) which is the final series of the implementation of the Tourism Working Group. TMM itself is scheduled to take place in Nusa Dua, Bali on September 26, 2022.

"We hope that this meeting will result in a mutual agreement among the G20 countries to overcome the existing challenges thoroughly by prioritizing collaboration and sustainability," said Sandiaga.

In this TWG activity, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy provided souvenir support in the form of 50 scarves for the companions of the G20 Summit TWG delegation. The souvenir scarf is a Lasem hand-drawn batik scarf produced by the Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) together with Maranatha University, Bandung and batik artisans in Lasem, Central Java.

"This is extraordinary and is a concrete step, because it is in accordance with the theme of the Tourism Working Group, namely strengthening communities and MSMEs through tourism and culture by strengthening the people's economy," he said.

In addition to TWG and TMM, there will also be the 42nd World Tourism Day which will take place in Bali on September 27, 2022. Because this year Indonesia was appointed to host the celebration of World Tourism Day for the first time.

“Obviously this World Tourism Day celebration belongs to us all, the Indonesian people as part of the world community. And the success of World Tourism Day 2022 will be the success of all of us and all Indonesian tourism people," he said. (VOI)