Published on : Saturday, February 3, 2018
The Indonesian Travel & Tourism sector is all geared up to generate 2.4 million new jobs. As per the new data from the World Travel & Tourism Council or WTTC, Travel & Tourism contributed 6.2% of the GDP of Indonesia, a total of 770 trillion rupiah. Jakarta alone contributes 41% of the Travel & Tourism of Indonesia.
To quote, , Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of WTTC while delivering speech at the Panorama Mega Conference in Jakarta, “Travel & Tourism is an important contributor to Indonesia’s economy, accounting for over 6% of GDP. In addition, with foreign visitor spend contributing 220 trillion rupiah to the economy, Travel & Tourism accounted for over 55% of Indonesia’s service sector exports. I congratulate the government of President Widodo, in particular Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya, on their prioritisation of and commitment to our industry. Thanks to their support for the Travel & Tourism sector, 2.4m new jobs will be created.”
President Widodo has targeted to lure over 20 million visitors in 2019, almost double that of 2016. Side by side, he has aimed $20 billion in investment in the sector to sustain speedy development. Indonesia in 2016 granted visa free access to the nationals of 169 countries, making way for the country to attract more foreign visitors.
To quote Ms Guevara, “Indonesia is a prime example of a government which is taking the right approach to tourism development with strategic investment to support sustainable growth and policies which facilitate travel. There is work still to be done, and partnership between the public-sector authorities and private sector enterprises is vital for the ambitious target. WTTC is delighted to support Indonesia’s travel sector in this endeavour.”