VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Surabaya municipality administration in collaboration with Airlangga University (Unair) has prepared a mobile application for medical tourism service in the city.

Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi remarked that the application included in the Surabaya medical tourism program, whose soft launch was conducted on September 27, is currently still being developed by Unair.

"Later on, the application will provide information on hospitals and their superior services and costs. Users can also find information related to tourism, hotels, restaurants, and various other facilities in the city," Cahyadi stated.

The mayor later noted that the medical tourism service will provide the best health services in Surabaya. Cahyadi believes that the city holds vast potential to provide the best health services in Surabaya and in eastern Indonesia.

"If we can run this program, it will automatically drive the economy, tourism, hotels, restaurants, and other aspects in Surabaya," Cahyadi noted.

The mayor later explained that the mobile application will provide services for a patient undergoing medical treatment in Surabaya, including with their friends or family accompanying them. The service includes airport pickup, hospital arrangements, and also a full itinerary created for the patient.

Cahyadi also pointed out that some 70 percent of Indonesians sought treatment abroad, most of whom were Surabaya residents. In fact, medical treatment in Indonesia is not inferior to abroad, he stressed.

This program was, in fact, devised from Cahyadi's experience in meeting a Surabaya patient, who had rented a private jet to go abroad for medical treatment. However, the doctor aboard diagnosed him with the same illness as the Surabaya doctor did.

"From the experience, I realized that we have great health workers with great hospitals. If patients can have excellent treatment in Indonesia, why should they go abroad?" he remarked.

Cahyadi is optimistic of the success of the medical tourism program that will be launched on November 10.

The Surabaya government had earlier held a soft launch of Surabaya Medical Tourism and the MoU signing pertaining to the implementation of medical tourism services at the Surabaya City Hall on September 27.

The MoU signing was conducted by Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi, Airlangga University Rector Professor Mohammad Nasih, Chairman of the Indonesian Hospital Association East Java Region Dodo Anondo, Chairman of Association of the Indonesian Tours & Travel Agencies East Java Region Imam Mahmudi, Chairman of the Astindo East Java Region Yongky Yanwitarko, and Chairman of Regional Indonesia's Hotel and Restaurant Association in East Java Chapter, Dwi Cahyono. (Antaranews)

The National Crafts Council (Dekranas) plans to organize an online handicraft exhibition presenting dozens of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) hosted on the online marketplace Tokopedia to welcome National Batik Day on October 2.

The council's store on Tokopedia offered hundreds of handicraft products, including batik, from dozens of MSMEs expected to become a spearhead in the national economic recovery efforts, Dekranas Head Wury Ma'ruf Amin noted in her press statement on Tuesday.

North Jakarta entrepreneur Irmanita Sinurat, who owned the Batik Marunda brand, lauded the Dekranas online exhibition that benefited her business.

"I feel the benefits of participating in the Dekranas exhibition on Tokopedia, as they allow my product to be exposed to the wider market potential while also providing online business training for small businesses," Sinurat stated.

Sinurat is using her Batik Marunda brand to assist dozens of mothers and young women living in the Marunda Flat complex, North Jakarta, to regain their livelihood and become more productive by participating in her batik business.

After almost being obliterated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Batik Marunda brand began to recover from its 80-percent decline in 2020 as the economy began to recover this year. The recent economic rise motivated her and other small businesses to create products at affordable prices to attract the youth.

"We also innovate by producing batik fabric masks to ensure that our business remains relevant amid the recent pandemic situation," she stated.

Participation of women in the Batik Marunda enterprise has increased five folds since she started her business in 2015. Apart from supporting her neighbor in the Marunda Flat complex, Sinurat also extended support to the Pekalongan batik producers by procuring her batik fabric from them.

"We continue to provide tailoring classes for women at the flat complex to make them economically independent. We also invited notable artists and designers to help us in designing our custom batik pattern," Sinurat remarked.

As the Dekranas exhibition's host, online marketplace Tokopedia has recorded a two-fold increase in batik sales in their platform for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to the total sales during the corresponding period in 2020.

Tokopedia recorded popular batik products on the online market platform, such as batik clothing, batik long fabrics, and batik masks. (Antaranews)

Spectators attending the XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, has said.

"According to the regulation, spectators can only fill a maximum of 25 percent of the venue capacity. In addition, they must have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” he stated at a virtual press conference, accessed via the ministry's YouTube channel from here on Monday afternoon.

“Currently, the Health Ministry, along with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, military, and police, is expediting vaccination coverage with a target of over 70 percent until the end of September 2021 in all host regions of XX Papua PON,” the minister noted.

Furthermore, the committee must anticipate the crowds at the opening ceremony as well as sports matches, he said.

During the press conference, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin urged all stakeholders to ensure that spectators watching the games live at the venue are in good health.

"We are coordinating to ensure the utilization of the PeduliLindungi app as well as manual health screening equipment that can make sure that the spectators are healthy and are not going to create a new COVID-19 cluster at the event," he said.

The ministry, the PON organizing committee, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, and the Papua Health Office are coordinating this task, he informed.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry Gatot S. Dewa Broto said that the move to restrict spectators by the committee is in keeping with the international standard on visitor arrangements.

"The opening of the XX Papua PON must be organized to avoid creating crowds. Our strategy is almost similar to the one implemented at the opening of the 2012 London Olympics," he said.

The committee will not only limit the number of spectators, but also the privileges of the participating athletes and officials, he said.

According to first deputy chairman of National Sports Committee, Major General (Retd.) Suwarno, the national sporting event began a few days ago although the official opening will take place on October 2, 2021.

"Currently, about 30 percent of the total participating athletes and officials have arrived in Papua," he informed.

The XX Papua PON organizing committee has urged all visitors to conduct self-isolation -- either in groups or independently, he said.

"Once arriving in Papua, an examination is carried out through the PeduliLindungi app as well as a COVID-19 swab antigen test before the visitors enter their lodgings," he disclosed.

Later, if any visitor feels unwell while participating in the event, a COVID-19 antigen or PCR test will be carried out, he said.

Should the result come out positive, the person will be treated at the isolation center provided by the committee, he added.

"The same protocols will be conducted while departing," he said.  (Antaranews)

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has said he expects the tourism sector to reduce economic inequality, in line with the 2021 World Tourism Day’s theme of "Tourism for Inclusive Growth".

“There has been a phenomenon amid the COVID-19 pandemic that the rich have become richer, while the poor have become poorer,” he remarked at the national coordination meeting of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry here on Monday.

Furthermore, the tourism sector in Indonesia experienced a strong decline in the last two years as social restrictions were enforced due to the soaring number of COVID-19 cases, he noted.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia dived by 75 percent in 2021, he informed. Meanwhile, in the period from January to July 2021, the number fell up to 80 percent, he said.

The decline erased nearly two million jobs and posed serious economic challenges, he added.

"Hence, the right policies in terms of target, benefit, and time are needed for the tourism sector," the minister said.

He said he believes that there is still scope in the tourism and creative economy sectors to generate a lot of business and employment opportunities for Indonesian people in the midst of the pandemic.

Speaking on the theme for this year's commemoration of World Tourism Day, which falls on September 27 every year, he said inclusive growth must improve the condition of those who are experiencing various difficulties due to the pandemic, for instance, loss of livelihoods.

The commemoration of the World Tourism Day also aims to encourage the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate poverty, maintain environmental sustainability, ensure gender equality, provide decent work and improve economic growth, as well as reduce inequality, he added. (Antaranews)