Natural beauty and cultural diversity are a powerful combination of Indonesia's tourism development. Lake Toba as one of the super priority tourist destinations, now continues to beautify itself with world-class sport tourism events through the 2022 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) agenda. Deputy Governor of North Sumatra Musa Rajekshah said, the magnet of Lake Toba with its natural and cultural beauty is now getting stronger with the holding of the 2022 Asia Pacific rally championship event. "This sport tourism event is important for tourism promotion, attracting more tourists to come, and having an impact on the economy," he said through a press release to the media, Monday (26/9/2022). The Lake Toba APRC 2022, which will be held September 23-25, is the second rally event held in the Lake Toba area this year. Previously, on August 5-7, a National Rally Championship was also held at the same location, the Aek Nauli Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI) area managed by PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL). This time, the APRC 2022 event was attended by 65 drivers from within and outside the country. Among them, drivers from Malaysia who are also former WRC world champion Karamjit Singh, as well as national racers such as Sean Gelael, Ryan Nirwan, Subhan Aksa, Rifat Sungkar, to Musa Rajekshah. According to Ijek, as Musa Rajekshah is called, the rally championship at Lake Toba will become a routine agenda with the Federation Internationale de' IAutomobile (FIA). In addition to the national and Asia Pacific level championships, in 2023 it is targeted to be able to hold a larger scale, namely the World Rally Championship (WRC) series. "We fully support it, because this is for the benefit of Indonesia. We want Lake Toba as a super priority destination to attract more tourists," he explained.
In line with Ijek, Director of Marketing for Nusantara Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) Dwi Marhen Yono said, 2022 is a momentum for national tourism recovery after the wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. "This year, we are targeting 600 million domestic tourist visits to various domestic destinations. With that amount, the potential for money turnover in the domestic tourism sector reaches IDR 300 trillion," he said. According to Marhen, the development of tourist destinations requires 3A + 3K pillars, namely Access, Amenity, Attractions, and Commitment, Creativity, and Collaboration. "Sport tourism such as Lake Toba APRC is a very important pillar of attraction for Lake Toba as a super priority destination," said the man from Banyuwangi, who previously served as Head of the Tourism and Culture Office of Pariaman City, West Sumatra. Director of PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL) Anwar Lawden added that his party fully supports the holding of the rally championship as part of the development of the Lake Toba tourism sector. Moreover, the rally track in the Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI) in the Aek Nauli sector, which is managed with the principle of sustainability, has become a favorite and appreciated by the racers. "Therefore, we are committed to fully support. Moreover, this sport tourism is proven to provide economic benefits for the community and business actors in the Lake Toba area," he said. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) again held training for tourism actors in the Borobudur-Yogya-Prambanan (BYP) area, on 16-22 September 2022. The Tourism Product Innovation Development and Tourism Capacity Development Training this time involved 150 cadres from 10 tourist villages, following a similar agenda that was held in Lombok and Labuan Bajo some time ago. The second stage of training for tourism actors in the BYP area was attended by tourism actors from the Tourism Villages of Prenggan, Candirejo, Tanjungsari, Ngargogondo, Wanurejo, Mendut, Bokoharjo, Bugisan, Kebondalem Kidul, and Pereng. The training which aims to increase the capacity and quality of tourism actors in tourist villages is part of the Tourism Awareness Campaign 5.0, which was carried out in 6 Priority Tourism Destinations (DPP), namely Lake Toba, Borobudur-Yogyakarta-Prambanan, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, Bromo- Tengger-Semeru and Wakatobi. At the opening of previous training activities in the same area, Menparekraf Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno conveyed that these 6 DPPs have their respective attractions, so that their competitiveness must continue to be strengthened so that the increase in tourist visits will be more beneficial for regional development and the welfare of the local community. "The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy will continue to increase the capacity and quality of human resources (tourism actors) through an integrated and sustainable tourism development program, with Tourism Product Innovation Development Training and Tourism Capacity Building as part of the program," explained Menparekraf. Along with the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to encourage the strategic role of tourist villages, the active participation of tourism actors is also expected to be a driving force in their respective villages or tourist villages.
