VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Efforts to restore the confidence of tourists is considered a key for the success of the country's tourism sector recovery, according to an official.

"Indonesia is experiencing a lack of trusted destinations from foreign and domestic tourists. Hence, we must work together to gain the tourists' confidence ," Deputy of Marketing Division of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Nia Niscaya said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

In fact, all countries have lost tourists' confidence owing to the COVID-19, Nia Niscaya said while speaking in ASITA's online business discussion on "Synergy of ASITA and the Government to Respond to the New Normal policy in the Indonesian Tourism".

She is upbeat that the tourists' confidence is restoring as Indonesia has managed to record positive growth and come out of the red zone.

The discussion was participated in by Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Ngurah Swajaya, Indonesian Ambassador to Laos Pratito Soeharyo, and Kosmas Harefa from the office of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, among others.

As parts of the efforts to regain the tourists' confidence, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has formulated and socializing health protocols dubbed Cleanliness, Health and Safety (CHS) protocols.

"This is the main issue when it comes to tourists. Indonesia's success in handling COVID-19 can be a consideration in building the nation branding. Hence, a synergy between ASITA and representatives of market countries is needed to boost tourist confidence," she said.

Learning from several countries that have been able to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak, the ministry will first focus on domestic market .

The ministry will carry out a strategy by launching a campaign dubbed #DiIndonesiaAja (#JustStayInIndonesia) targeting the market segmentation of families, couples, individual tourists or fully independent travelers (FIT), and the government.

Likewise for the international tourist market, the ministry is preparing a strategy by launching a #DreamNowTravelTomorrow campaign for its CHS protocol branding.

"The point is we have to be able to be present in the market by displaying contents that inspire tourists," Nia Niscaya said.(ANTARA)