During a press conference, Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, revealed his plans to recession-proof Bali.
He explained to the media how he and his teams will modify their 2023 plan in light of the changing nature of the global economy. He advised Indonesia to stay ahead of the curve to mitigate the impact of the impending global recession on the country’s tourism industry.
In his opening remarks, Minister Uno discussed how the three largest economies in the world—North America, China, and Europe—are all expected to experience recessions in 2023. He stated: “Of course, this will have an impact on people’s spending, especially in the tourism sector. Therefore, we immediately made adjustments in terms of focus on developing tourism and the creative economy, especially foreign tourists.”
He emphasized that tourists from India, Australia and New Zealand are showing more and more interest in visiting Indonesia. Malaysia and Singapore also continue to expand, he continued. Adjustments needed to help the tourism industry weather the economic downturn include marketing initiatives such as his collaboration with Airbnb and the provision of more direct flights to the country’s major tourist attractions such as Bali, according to Minister Uno.
He explained, “there have been several foreign direct flights from Qatar and Dubai that have already delivered. We also want additions from Singapore and several ASEAN countries. This is what we are trying to do in the first quarter of this year in collaboration with airlines and the Ministry of Transportation so that the market is very this potential also includes India being served by direct flights, especially to the two leading destinations, namely Denpasar and Jakarta, maybe later it can be added to other destinations”.
There have been rumors that direct flights from Mumbai and the Chinese mainland will begin operating in 2023, but neither the airlines nor the Department of Transportation have made any formal announcements.
Minister Uno is determined to ensure that the development of the tourism industry is not limited to Bali. He has prioritized five areas for tourism growth. These include Labuan Bajo in the Flores Islands and Lake Toba in Sumatra.
He is still optimistic about the possibilities for the Indonesian economy in 2023, despite the threat of global recession. “Indonesia will still grow by around 5 percent. Of course, we must focus on encouraging the movement of domestic tourists to reach the target number of 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion. We will greatly encourage the movement of domestic tourists,” said the Minister.