For the first time in history, Indonesia had the honour of hosting the 42nd World Tourism Day 2022 celebration on 27 September 2022 in Bali, which was a crucial and strategic momentum for Indonesia to realize its development agenda as well as quality and sustainable tourism.
Head of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Sunday, stated that this year’s World Tourism Day was celebrated as a transition to tourism is now recognized as an important pillar for the development and progress of tourism after the pandemic.
Therefore, the theme for WTD 2022 was “Rethinking Tourism”. Stakeholders in the tourism sector united their vision and mission through creative ideas oriented toward ‘people’ and ‘planet’ to strengthen resilience so that the tourism sector will not be as vulnerable to disasters.
Since the pandemic hit the world, all stakeholders have realized that strengthening the basic foundation of tourism that puts forward ‘people’ (preparing a more resilient, superior and competitive society) and ‘planet’ (maintaining environmental sustainability and natural wealth) is something crucial that must be achieved by every tourism individual.
“The value of tourism itself will be even greater because it has a good impact not only on improving the community’s welfare but also on Earth’s sustainability. This is why the celebration of World Tourism Day 2022 was a very strategic momentum for Indonesia to realize the agenda and ideals of a more sustainable future tourism,” according to Minister Sandiaga.
The celebration of WTD featured a multi-stakeholder discussion panel with the theme “Rethinking Tourism as a Key Element on Recovery”, as well as a discussion with the theme “The Tourism We Want” led by representatives from the tourism sector in Bali.
Acting Deputy for Resources and Institutions of the MOTCE, Frans Teguh, added that through this activity, it is expected that tourism can be part of building the nation in a better direction. “This means that tourism belongs to us all, and we want to encourage and ensure building the nation together through tourism,” Frans said.
Recently, Indonesia has been ranked first among the most beautiful countries in the world, according to the Natural Beauty Report. With the ease of international arrival regulations and Visa on Arrival (VoA), tourists can now enjoy their vacation to the fullest in Indonesia. Apart from its magnificent culture, tourists can also delight in Indonesia’s variety of natural beauty, adventure, and wildlife.
In addition to Bali, which is one of the most preferred islands, visitors come in numbers to set foot on Komodo Island. The destination was voted one of the 7 Wonders of Nature. These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of approximately 5,700 giant lizards, whose aggressive appearance and behaviour have given them the name of Komodo Dragons. Komodo is the only place in the world where such creatures can be admired.