Jakarta, Gatra.com – A married couple from Toronto, Canada, arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, on a Korean Air plane from Incheon, South Korea.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno welcomed the first tourists to Indonesia in 2023.

“The Ministry of Tourism and the Creative Economy is honored to receive the visit of foreign tourists, a couple from Toronto. They will spend a month in Indonesia. They will also go to Yogyakarta and several other destinations,” Sandiaga said as quoted on the official website of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy on Sunday (1/1).

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Besides a married couple from Canada, several tourists from South Korea were also hosted by Sandiaga. He said it was hoped that the repeal of the PPKM policy across Indonesia would become a new chapter for the revival of Indonesian tourism.

As 2023 dawns, the performance of the tourism and creative economy sectors in 2023 faces a fairly lofty target. Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to reach 7.4 million and domestic tourists 1.2 to 1.4 billion.

Sandiaga said Bali is one of the top destinations in Indonesia, known for its reputation in the world.

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“We hope Bali in particular can be at 4 million. This year the target (tourists in Bali) which was initially 1.8 has been reached with 2.2 million,” he said.

He also explained that in an effort to achieve the goal of sightseeing, cooperation with related parties would be optimized by preparing various programs. Quality and sustainable tourism with nature and culture as an attraction will be one of the priority axes.

“Increasing accessibility, adding attractions, especially events, are also on the way. The big events in 2023 are many (related to) sports, there’s the FIFA U-World Cup 20, in Bali there is the World Beach Game, in Jakarta there is the FIBA ​​World Cup, so this is what we will use later as a strategy to support an increase in the number of foreign tourists,” he said. he explains.

Meanwhile, Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Cok Ace) also hailed the arrival of the first foreign tourists in 2023 in Bali.

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He hopes it will be a good start for tourism in the future.

“The length of stay (tourists) is now around 5-7 days. We hope to be able to do more, to return to the glorious days of the past for more than 10 days. Hope this is a good start for the tourist community. Let’s welcome 2023 with full of hope, optimism and we can recover,” he said.

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