The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said the target for the number of domestic tourist movements had broken the 'all-time record' or the highest peak in 2022. According to him, this achievement was very encouraging because it was realized during a pandemic. "This year we broke the 'all time record' with more than 800 million movements of domestic tourists," said Sandiaga, quoted Monday (21/11/2022). He is optimistic that Indonesia's tourism sector will continue to grow, even amidst the shadow of a global economic recession. With this achievement, Sandiaga Uno admitted that he received a challenge from the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to bring in 1.4 billion tourists in the country by 2023. Even though he has to achieve almost double the number of tourist arrivals from this year, Sandiaga is confident that he can achieve it. Especially because Covid-19 has been under control with increasingly massive vaccinations. Sandiaga Uno added that the tourism sector would also support Indonesia's target of achieving net zero emission or NZE. Gradually, vehicles that transport tourists in tourism areas will be shifted to electric motorbikes or electric cars. "We can offer several destinations that originally used fossil fuels to be converted to new renewable energy," said Sandiaga. The concept of this energy transition has also been discussed at the Global Tourism Forum as part of the G20 Summit. G20 member countries are raising USD 200 billion in funds to support sustainable tourism to reduce the impact of climate change. Sandiaga said Indonesia was aiming for USD 6-8 billion from the fundraising. The funding will be used to convert conventional vehicles to electricity and build green tourism infrastructure. In the early stages, the conversion of electric vehicles in tourist destinations will take effect at ITDC, Nusa Dua, Bali. By 2030, Sandiaga targets the Nusa Dua area to be free of oil-fueled vehicles. Simultaneously, the same policy will apply to Lake Toba, Labuan Bajo, Mandalika, Borobudur and Likupang as five super-priority tourist destinations. Not only discussing Indonesia's success in holding the G20 Summit and tourism issues, the "Tempo Economic Forum 2023: Strengthening Economic Resilience in the Face of a Global Recession" agenda also highlighted the pandemic fund or pandemic funding launched by President Joko Widodo on 13 November 2022. One of the concrete results of the success of the Indonesian Presidency in the 2022 G20 is the approval of a pandemic fund mechanism for prevention, preparation and response to pandemic threats. The Country Director of the World Bank for Indonesia and Timor Leste, Satu Kahkonen, stated the importance of further anticipating the next pandemic that might occur. "The Covid-19 pandemic is not the first outbreak and certainly will not be the last pandemic we will face," he said. The current pandemic fund has been opened for G20 countries. “All G20 countries can contribute. The World Bank is managing it together with the WHO," he said. Currently, around USD 1.4 billion in pandemic funds has been collected. Kahkonen is optimistic that this amount will continue to grow in line with the increasing contribution from the G20 countries. Kahkonen predicts that Indonesia will be the first country to submit a proposal for the use of these funds. "Countries that need a pandemic fund can submit it to the G20. I think Indonesia will be the first country to submit this proposal," he said.
Meanwhile, international financial organizations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appreciate the Indonesian government for successfully holding the G20 Summit in Bali on 15-16 November 2022. Representatives from these two institutions stated that the success of the G20 made Indonesia's position worthy of reckoned with on the global stage. Country Director of the World Bank for Indonesia and Timor Leste Satu Kahkonen assessed that Indonesia was able to complete the most difficult presidency in the history of the G20 because the geopolitical situation was heating up and was still during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Well done (very good)," said Satu Kahkonen. Kahkonen said that when the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, there was a big question whether the G20 meeting could take place. There are also doubts whether the G20 will be able to come to a joint decision. "Until the beginning of the week before the summit of the G20, there were still many who were skeptical that communiqués could be made," said Kahkonen. "But Indonesia managed to do it." Kahkonen continued, Indonesia's achievement in the G20 presidency this time was not an easy thing. He even called it the most difficult presidency in history. This is because this is the first time Indonesia has held the G20 Presidency and is in a difficult global condition. "I congratulate the Indonesian government on its achievement in completing the G20 Presidency successfully," he said. In line with Kahkonen, Senior Resident Representative for Indonesia of the IMF, James P. Walsh expressed his appreciation to the Indonesian government for the successful implementation of the G20. "In the midst of the current geopolitical situation, it is not easy to build consensus with many countries. Congratulations Indonesia," he said. In the same forum, the founder and CEO of Ayoconnect, Jakob Friedemann Rost, also expressed his appreciation for the success of Indonesia's G20 Presidency. This success has made Indonesia now a country to be reckoned with on the world map and made Bali even more popular. "Congratulations to Indonesia," he said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic conditions experienced a decline. The most important thing is how to survive and grow in these difficult times. And Indonesia, according to the IMF, has succeeded in boosting growth amid the threat of a global economic crisis facing countries in the world. Senior Resident Representative for Indonesia of IMF, James P. Walsh said that Indonesia has become a global bright spot. "What I want to say for Indonesia is that Indonesia has become a global bright spot," said James. He said inflation in Indonesia was much lower than other countries in the world today. James also appreciated the few accompanying social problems, as happened in several countries around the world. “Indonesia has relatively strong domestic growth. The economy here is improving at a rate that seems sustainable and quite solid. And because of that, we are quite optimistic, “said James. However, he reminded Indonesia to remain vigilant. That's because the outlook for the global economy in the next year is very challenging. James said, there are at least three main things that will become challenges to the global economy, namely high inflation, difficult financial conditions, and geopolitical uncertainty. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up food and fuel prices around the world, has also created uncertainty in financial markets. Meanwhile, the Minister of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki said that the resilience and revival of the Indonesian economy during the pandemic and after the outbreak was under control was inseparable from the contribution of 64 million MSMEs which support the national economy. Based on BPS data, Indonesia's economic growth grew rapidly in the third quarter of 2022 by 5.7% year on year (yoy) amid global economic pressures and the threat of increasing inflation. "The post-pandemic era of disruption is a big and layered challenge for MSMEs to survive and grow," said Teten. Therefore, he continued, MSMEs must innovate, transform, and collaborate. Several efforts to encourage the growth of MSMEs include carrying out digital transformation, increasing Innovation Driven Enterprise (IDE)-based national entrepreneurs, involving MSMEs into the wider business ecosystem, and accelerating the transition from informal to formal micro-enterprises. In digital transformation, Teten explained, MSMEs are expected to be able to take advantage of the potential of Indonesia's digital economy which will reach IDR 4,531 trillion in 2030. "Currently as many as 20.5 million MSMEs have digital onboarding," he said. The government is targeting 30 million MSMEs to enter the digital ecosystem by 2024. The government is also optimizing 74 New PLUT or Integrated Business Service Centers as centers of excellence and trading houses in the regions. The goal is that MSMEs can increase their added value, productivity and competitiveness through inclusive and comprehensive assistance.
