Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno is calling for an increase in the tourism ministry’s budget by 3 trillion rupiah ($184.75 million).
According to a press release from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, the ministry confirmed it is requesting an additional Rp 3,052,364,852,000 to fund new programs to support the development and expansion of the country’s tourism sector.
Deputy Minister Sandiaga Uno and Deputy Minister Angela Tanoesoedibjo submitted the request for additional funds during a meeting with the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission 10 (DPR-RI) in Jakarta, Wednesday (5/6/2024).
Minister Sandiaga said in a meeting with lawmakers that the additional allocation of Rp 3,052,364,852,000 is in addition to the ministry’s budget as outlined in the existing Ministerial Budget Draft submitted as part of the National Budget on April 5, 2024. “We hope that (the additional budget) will be promoted for the development of the tourism and creative economy sectors,” Minister Sandiaga added.
The Tourism Minister highlighted the ministry’s achievements, saying the additional funding will pave the way for greater progress in the future. Sandiaga highlighted Indonesia’s rise of 10 places in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI), from 32nd to 22nd. Indonesia also achieved the highest rating as a Muslim-friendly travel destination in the MasterCard Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2024.
“I feel positive about the supplemental budget request and my colleagues at Bangal (DPR budget agency) are going to fight for it. In the end, this will be a better outcome for everyone. We will write this supplemental budget request immediately and make it even more of a priority,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoestebyo explained that the current budget represents a 49.96% decrease from the budget ceiling of Rp3,534,132,141,000 for 2024. Angela said the additional budget proposal was submitted to cover the draft Government Action Plan (RKP) for 2025.
Angela continued: “This will help us achieve our target indicators for 2025, namely increasing the economic growth rate from 5.3% to 5.6%. Furthermore, our tourism and creative sector development goals for 2025 aim to increase tourism’s share of GDP by 4.6%, foreign exchange earnings to US$22.1 billion, and the creative economy’s share of GDP by 7.92%.”
Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mr. Sandiaga Uno
The request for additional funds was supported by DPR-RI 10th Commission Deputy Chairperson Agustina Wirjen Pramestuti, who said the additional funds are needed for further sustainable development of the country’s tourism and creative economy sectors.
Meanwhile, CNN Indonesia quoted Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani as urging his colleague Sandiaga Uno not to be cynical about the current budget, which he sees as insufficient. In response, Sandiaga cited Indonesia’s improved ranking in the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index. “I congratulate Minister Bapak Sandi for saying that Indonesia’s ranking has soared to 22nd place despite the Ministry of Tourism’s limited budget,” Mulyadi said. Mulyadi went on to joke, “That’s all good. So the more we cut the tourism budget, the higher we’ll rank in the Indonesia Travel and Tourism Development Index? Awesome!”
Minister Mulyadi said Minister Sandiaga should not be cynical or discouraged because the national budget for tourism is low. She reminded everyone that the national budget for tourism and the creative economy is one of the government’s many stimulus measures for the tourism economy. Minister Mulyadi said national funds to promote tourism do not flow only through the Ministry of Tourism. For example, funds provided to the public works and social housing sector cover the costs of airport developments carried out by the Ministry of Transport.
“So in this case, don’t be skeptical about the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s budget, because (Kemenparekrakh) is not necessarily related (to tourism). Tourism depends on human resources, infrastructure and the environment,” explained Mulyadi. “We have to be very careful when investigating the actual endowments that support the tourism sector,” he concluded.
Mulyadi said the government has allocated Rp3.53 trillion for the tourism and creative economy sector for 2024. This amount is higher than the Rp3.39 trillion allocated for 2023. However, the 2022 budget is lower than the 2019 budget of Rp3.83 trillion.
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