VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vincent Jemadu and UNWTO representative after Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development meet with press - 

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) collaborated with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Gianyar Regency Government to hold a Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development at The Royal Pita Maha, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Thursday (12/14/2023).

This activity is a follow-up and socialization of the Gastronomic Destination Development Strategy document in Ubud. This document was previously submitted by UNWTO to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Menparekraf/Kabaparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno on the agenda of the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) for Tourism and Creative Economy, Tuesday (12/12/2023) at Bandung West Java.

The document has also been submitted to the Gianyar Regency Government, represented by Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia accompanied by the Head of the Gianyar Regency Tourism Office, I Wayan Gede Sedana Putra.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga in his statement, Friday (15/12/2023), said that this workshop and socialization is expected to strengthen the role and collaboration of stakeholders in Ubud.

Starting from various organizations, local and regional destination managers, business representatives and academics related to gastronomy in Ubud.

"Ubud was chosen as a pilot project for the development of gastronomic tourism because of its readiness and high level of collaboration between stakeholders. "Food in Ubud is not just a culinary dish, but has become a lifestyle and culture for the local community." said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, the gastronomic culture that is rooted in Ubud can be seen from the interpretation of the reliefs on the walls of Yeh Pulu Temple, which depict the culture of raising livestock, farming and hunting as part of the local gastronomic culture.

Ubud also has Subak, a traditional irrigation management system which is a cultural pillar of Balinese society as well as the Tri Hita Karana philosophy, the principle of harmony between humans, nature and God, which also represents cultural and culinary riches.

"Ubud is one of the tourism icons in Gianyar which is expected to contribute more to the regional economy through gastronomy and we from the Gianyar regional government will support it from a regulatory perspective," said Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia.

Apart from authentic, traditional, innovative and sustainable culinary experiences, gastronomic tourism is an implementation of inclusive tourism that can involve various stakeholders and other related activities.

Such as visiting local producers, participating in food festivals, attending cooking classes, visiting education centers, enjoying traditional foods, and so on.

Therefore, the involvement and _spirit_ of collaboration from various parties is very important to be able to optimize the benefits that can be obtained from the development of gastronomic tourism.

Department Officer, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness UNWTO, Patricia Carmona, said that one of the main recommendations in this program is the formation of a Gastronomy Tourism Club.

Namely, an organizational body consisting of all stakeholders in the gastronomy industry to be able to actively collaborate and be committed to initiating the development and implementation of gastronomy-related programs in Ubud in the future.

"It is hoped that the program and action plan for this activity can be collaborated with ministries, institutions and wider stakeholders," said the Deputy for Tourism Products and Event Organizers at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Vinsensius Jemadu.

The Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development activities were then continued with the Gastronomy Tourism Club Kick-off Meeting to discuss follow-up plans for the gastronomic tourism development program in Ubud//VOI

Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Rachmat Kaimuddin, explaining to the press - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The additional incentive package contained in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 79 of 2023 concerning Amendments to Presidential Decree No. 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of the Battery-Based Electric Motor Vehicle (KBLBB) Program is expected to boost Indonesia's electric vehicle (EV) production capacity, in line with the increase global demand for EVs.

This was stated by the Deputy for Infrastructure and Transportation, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Rachmat Kaimuddin, Friday (15-11-2023).

This statement was made after the government had just issued a Presidential Decree which regulates the provision of incentives in the form of 0% import duty, 0% PPnBM and exemption or reduction of regional taxes for KBLBB, all of which apply to imports of KBLBB in complete condition (Completely Built-Up/CBU). and Completely Knock Down (CKD) with TKDN <40%.

“This is a win-win program that is quite progressive for Indonesia and investors. "We need to build economics of scale for the EV vehicle market in Indonesia, therefore the government has issued an incentive program to form an EV vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia," said Deputy Rachmat.

“How to provide incentives when the market has not yet been formed? "Therefore, the government provides opportunities for investors to build EV factories in Indonesia, and at the same time before the factories operate, they can market their imported EV products in Indonesia at more competitive prices," he explained.

Deputy Rachmat added that EV manufacturers can enjoy import incentive packages until the end of 2025. Furthermore, producers are required to fulfill the provisions for domestic EV production or "production debt" until the end of 2027, in accordance with the applicable TKDN provisions.

In this case, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries also emphasized that the additional incentive package will also support the acceleration of EV adoption by providing more options or choices of EV product variations at more affordable prices for the Indonesian people.

“There are two things we need to pay attention to: options and affordability. "Currently the EV options available are still limited, and cannot meet the demand of the Indonesian market," explained Deputy Rachmat.

With additional incentive packages, manufacturers can present more EV models at competitive selling prices compared to conventional cars.

"Seeing the increasing trend in global EV demand, the Indonesian automotive industry needs to rush to transform and seize the opportunities of the global trend. "Don't let us lose the opportunity to become the center for the production and supply chain of environmentally friendly vehicles in Southeast Asia," added Deputy Rachmat.

It is known that global electric car sales have now reached 14% of total global car sales. Jumping from 3 million electric cars in 2020 to 10 million electric cars in 2022 (IEA, 2023). However, currently, Indonesia's EV manufacturing capacity lags behind neighboring countries.

It is recorded that Indonesia's production capacity reaches 34,000 cars, 2,480 buses and 1.45 million motorbikes per year. Meanwhile, electric vehicle production capacity in Thailand reaches - 240,000 per year.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, Indonesia is targeting two million electric passenger cars and 13 million electric motorbikes on the road by 2030. To achieve this target and ensure the smooth implementation of the additional incentive package, the government is currently coordinating with relevant ministries/agencies in the preparation and harmonization of technical regulations .

Previously the government had launched fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for consumers and producers. One form of incentive is a discount of IDR 7 million for all Indonesian people who want to buy a new electric motorbike that meets 40 percent of local component needs//VOI

TMII e-flyer - 

Voinews, Jakarta - Welcoming the busy period of Christmas 2023 and New Year 2024 celebrations, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) holds various events that can be enjoyed by wide community.

The Christmas and New Year (Nataru) celebration week will start December 20, 2023 to January 2, 2024. 

One of the main events is OneThereLand which offers a unique and interesting concept starting from a 12 day music concert from December 21, 2023 to January 1, 2024 enlivened by dozens of Indonesian musicians, podcasts and stand-up comedy.

Several musicians in the first phase line up including OKAAY December 23 2023, Aruma December 24 2023, GJLS 25 December 2023, Aldi Taher 25 December 2023, Dikta 27 December 2023, Indies 28 December 2023, etc.

This line up will continue to grow as the event progresses will definitely add to the excitement of the OneThereLand event.

For culinary lovers, there is the Jakarta Crunchy Area which specializes in serving everything types of food baking/pastry products. Starting from what is currently viral to the most legend in Jakarta.

In the beverages section, in the CRUNCHY AREA it can be found various types of drinks from role model coffeeshops in Jakarta to contemporary drinks.

Besides There is also a Market Land scene which consists of a Fashion Show, 100 MSME exhibitions, playground, and stand-up comedy. 

"Apart from the 12 day concert we will also perform OneThereLand, which is enlivened by Indonesian musicians regional music and dance performances, as well as shadow puppetry as a conservation effort about traditional arts", TMII Main Director, Claudia Ingkiriwang, said. 

Regarding the Dancing Fountain Tirta Stories performance, a harmonization of the combination of multimedia shows with water screens and fountains as well lighting of 300 drones, which was previously regularly displayed every day starting at 18.30 Western Indonesia Time. 

"During Christmas and New Year Week, the Tirta Stories show will have additional hours show. If usually only once a day, now it's 5 times a day, and specifically on New Year's Eve there will be 6 performances in one day. Dancing Fountain Tirta Story
This is the biggest fountain show in Jakarta and the biggest fountain show with drone
in South East Asia”, Claudia added. 

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, visitors can also enjoy a variety of other recreational activities, including visits to bird park, reptile park, cable car ride, or a relaxing picnic with the family with the availability of many green open areas. 

In providing a sense of security for tourists visiting TMII, TMII Management also collaborating with regional security elements with TNI & Polri elements as available several tent points/security service posts and health posts.

TMII management applies a special entrance ticket price during the week, namely IDR. 50,000/person. Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets online at www.tamanmini.com to avoid long queues at the entrance.

For those who using public transportation, there is a Transjakarta Bus stop right at the TMII entrance. There is also a free shuttle service that directly transports visitors from the Station Lobby TMII LRT to TMII Tourist Information Center and vice versa//VOI

A delivery worker rides a scooter as he uses his foot to balance on a slippery street amid snowfall in Beijing, China on Dec 14, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Tingshu Wang) - 

BEIJING: A cold wave extended its grip over China on Friday (Dec 15) with temperatures plummeting to below freezing across most of the country, causing authorities to limit traffic flows on highways in several provinces after vehicles collided on icy patches.

Temperatures will drop to below minus 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and in the region of Xinjiang in the northwest, along with Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, according to forecasts from China's National Meteorological Centre.

The cold wave that began at the start of this week is moving through the country from north to south and is expected to drag temperatures lower into the weekend even as the Meteorological Centre says rain and snow will decrease.

The city of Yichun in Heilongjiang could see a January 1980 record of minus 47.9 degrees Celsius be broken early next week as severe weather conditions set in.

In Henan province, snowfall and icy roads along with heavy fog caused multiple accidents on several expressways leading to traffic controls.

Traffic authorities in Ningxia region said some of its highways have become unsafe and implemented temporary traffic measures as snow fell. Neighbouring Gansu also saw some highways closed and trains suspended, according to state media.

On Beijing's outskirts, authorities looking into an accident on a commuter rail line said a train carriage failed to brake while moving downhill, colliding with another car that had stopped because track conditions had deteriorated due to the snow.

Ferries and some buses were temporarily suspended early on Friday in Shanghai as the financial hub issued its first cold wave warning of the year as cold air from the north is forecast to reduce temperatures to as low as minus 6 degrees Celsius this weekend.

In the southwest, sections of many national and provincial highways in Tibetan cities such as Shigatse and Nyingchi were blocked due to snow, ice and low visibility as the skies have dumped snow since Monday.

The local government has mobilised 2,400 personnel, more than 3,300 metric tons of snow-melting agent, and more than 23,000 cubic meters of anti-skid materials for prevention measures. Photos from state media show tractors scooping up snow and people shovelling on roads against a backdrop of white mountains.

Beijing and the provinces of Jiangxi and Shanxi have also taken measures to secure vegetable and fruit harvests from freeze damage and diseases, state media said.

China lifted its warning for blizzards before dawn on Friday but said heavy snowfall is forecast in parts of Liaoning and Jilin provinces in the northeast as well as in Shandong.

In the city of Shenyang in Liaoning, authorities deployed 22,000 workers and more than 3,400 machines for snow removal operations, clearing as much as 12,800 cubic metres of snow by early Friday. Its observatory has forecast snowfall and strong winds until Saturday.

The national forecaster said the scope and intensity of freezing rain will decrease on Friday but will still appear in some higher terrains in Guizhou and Hunan.

Next week, cold air will continue to flow across the country from north to south, keeping temperatures low in central and eastern regions. Forecasters said most of the country will see lower-than-usual temperatures over the next ten days//CNA-VOI