JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Tourism and Creative Industries Minister Sandiaga Uno stressed that his government’s policy on halal tourism is aimed at expanding services.
“Therefore, for the past 18 months, we have focused on improving Indonesia’s ranking in the Global Travel Muslim Index because we were knocked out of the top 3. Thank God we got number two in the ranking (in 2022). However, we must not stop, we must hold hands and make it to first place,” the minister said on Wednesday in a webinar on Islamic Digital Day 2022 here.
Indonesia had ranked second in the 2022 Global Travel Muslim Index with 70 points. In 2025, he aimed for Indonesia to score 75 points to overtake first place Malaysia.
In 2020, Indonesia also became the largest Halal consumer market in the world, with the contribution of Halal product consumption reaching US$184 billion. In addition, the state made a contribution as a producer of halal products.
“The progress of Indonesia’s Islamic financial ecosystem is reflected in Indonesia’s performance as the country with the best Islamic financial ecosystem in the world. This is based on the Islamic Finance Country Index in 2021,” the minister noted.
Uno noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has digitally transformed the world, with the participation of 204.7 million internet users in Indonesia and an internet penetration rate of 73.7 percent.
The digital transformation also led to a new ecosystem that was more open and equitable in terms of marketing and sales via cyberspace. These opportunities were seen as an opportunity for the development of the Islamic economic sector.
In addition, contactless and flexible payments and services have been one of the growing trends among tourists, as evidenced by the use of QRIS in leading tourist destinations and tourist villages. The total transaction value is said to have reached 39 trillion rupees.
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More than 19 million merchants have used QRIS, according to Bank of Indonesia.
The government also provided cross-border QRIS services with several ASEAN countries to make transactions easier for tourists and to provide cost-efficiency for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) involved in the tourism and creative industries sectors.
UN also encouraged Muslim travelers to visit domestic destinations before performing umrah or engaging in religious tourism abroad.
The minister explained that they could read Muslim-friendly tourism guides available in five popular tourist destinations: Borobudur in Central Java, Likupang in North Sulawesi, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara and Lake Toba in North -Sumatra.
“The #DiIndonesiaAja (Just do it in Indonesia, concept) in which we apply the CHSE (Clean, Health, Safety, Environmental) principle is actually in line with the Halalan Thayyiban (permissible and good in Islam) principle,” led Uno off.
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