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To achieve the goal, the Ministry has created programs that focus on “4 AS” principles: namely Kerja KerAS (hard-working), CerdAS (smart working), TuntAS (thorough), and IkhlAS (sincere). The ministry is optimistic that the 4 AS will be core values for the tourism and creative industries to rebuild their businesses and revive the national economy.
This “4 AS” principles were founded following COVID-19 pandemic impacts to the tourism and creative business across the country, where before social and economic restrictions ruled to measure the spread of the virus, had 16.11 million tourist arrivals in 2019 and dropped by 75% to 4.02 million in 2020.
The figure was a hard blow to a tourism economy that supplied 5.7% of the country’s gross domestic product and provided 12.6 million jobs in 2019.
“We need to move fast to acquire knowledge and skills relevant to businesses. That is why all stakeholders should synergize to unlock all tourism and creative industry’s potentials to create jobs and to ensure that we can rebuild our economy through quality and sustainable tourism,” said Sandiaga Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Boosting business resilience through digital entrepreneurship trainings
The government has been working on the initiative by distributing recovery incentives for the tourism and creative industries. As of the first half of 2020, the tourism industry in Indonesia suffered a loss of around 85 trillion Indonesian rupiah in tourism revenue, with the hotel and restaurant industry estimated loss of around 70 trillion Indonesia rupiah.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected other creative sectors as well. Therefore, the Ministry is also working on various educational programs to encourage entrepreneurship across the country.
One of the programs is an initiative for students of Islamic boarding schools called “Santri Digitalpreneur Indonesia” that focuses on training and mentoring “santri” (students) to learn digital skills and use it as their capital to become a digitalpreneur or work in the creative industry.
“Indonesia has 31,385 Islamic boarding schools and we encourage them all to develop their creative economy through digitalization. All these initiatives are part of our effort to advance our national economic growth,” added Sandiaga.
The Ministry has also strengthened its partnership with all stakeholders to improve business resilience based on “3 C principals”, namely Commitment, Competence, and Champion, to revive tourism and creative economy, increase economic empowerment, and create employment.
“We must move collaboratively on all existing business potentials to create new jobs. Through innovative and creative ideas, we can rebuild and advance the Indonesian economy,” concluded Sandiaga.
Source: Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy(Press release)
