In 2023, Indonesia will again hold an important position in international forums as chair of ASEAN. The momentum of Indonesia's Chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023 needs to be optimally utilized to realize an increase in Indonesia's role and leadership, and it is hoped that this will bring about new initiatives in overcoming challenges and other crucial issues of concern in the region and the world, including in the tourism sector. This was conveyed by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno in a public lecture at the Faculty of Tourism, University of Pancasila (22/02). Sandiaga continued, "On a regional scale, we encourage the tourism sector to be developed in an inclusive and sustainable manner. Based on Indonesia's experience, tourism has proven to be able to make a major contribution to post-pandemic economic recovery."
Based on big data collected by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, tourist villages have been proven to increase the community's economy by up to 30 percent. The existence of this tourist village besides attracting other tourism potentials in the vicinity, also empowers MSMEs and the surrounding community to contribute to the development of tourist destinations. Of course, this is good news for Indonesia to continue to revive its post-pandemic economy. Wiwik Mahdayani, Director of the DESMA Center stated that tourist villages are one of the characteristics and main pillars of Indonesian tourism. "Indonesia has a lot of potential for superior tourism villages, and therefore it needs to be supported by increased capacity for planning and management to make it more independent, resilient and sustainable."
