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Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana during a meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Wednesday (November 20, 2024). (ANTARA/Hreeloita Dharma Shanti)

VOInews, Jakarta : Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana has said that her ministry will propose an increase in its budget ceiling to Rp2.254 trillion (around US$141.72 million) to support its priority programs for next year.

"Considering that the budget ceiling decreased significantly from 2024 to 2025, we are currently planning to propose an increase in the 2025 budget ceiling to Rp2,254,706,954,000," she informed.

She conveyed this during a meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

She informed that the budget ceiling for the Ministry of Tourism for 2025 is Rp1.489 trillion (around US$93.62 million).

Of the proposed Rp2.254 trillion budget, Rp1.837 trillion (around US$115.5 million) is planned to be allocated for work units at the central level, Rp123 billion (around US$7.73 million) for tourism authority agencies, and Rp294 billion (around US$18.48 million) for tourism polytechnics.

Wardhana said that the increase is reasonable because the budget ceiling for 2025 is significantly lower compared to Rp3.182 trillion (around US$200 million) in 2024.

She also outlined the four Quick Wins programs that the Ministry of Tourism is carrying out.

The first program is the intensification of the Proud of Traveling in Indonesia (BBWI) program, which includes campaigns, tourism package integration, transport cost efficiencies, and improvement of tourist destinations' competitiveness.

The second program is Tourism 5.0: Marketing and Calendar of Events, which includes the digitalization of the Calendar of Events and the development of AI Travel Planner Assistance features, as well as organizing and supporting national and international events.

The third program is making airfares affordable, and the fourth program is improving the quality of human resources and business players.

In this regard, she affirmed that her ministry is continuing to collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Manpower.

Quality improvement is also being encouraged through the tourism sectoral committee, revitalization of vocational education and vocational training, as well as empowerment of communities in tourism villages//Antara-VOI