USU PR - The pandemic has hit the national economy, one of which is the tourism sector. The condition of tourism and the global creative economy was hit hard, almost all sectors that joined the creative economy were affected.

In response to this, the Lake Toba Region Tourism & Sustainable Tourism Working Group (Pokja KK-PKDT & PB) and the Monitoring Center for Sustainable Tourism Observatory, Universitas Sumatera Utara held a Multistakeholder Meeting. With the topic "Efforts to Restore the Tourism Sector Post-Covid-19", the event was held online via a zoom meeting on Tuesday (11/09/2021).

Vice Rector III for Research, Community Service, and Collaboration at USU Dr. Poppy Anjelisa Zaitun Hasibuan S.Si., M.Sc., Apt. "This meeting is one of the important measures that are measured by those who care to improve the tourism sector in North Sumatra," she said. "This stakeholder meeting discusses efforts, challenges and solutions to restore tourism conditions in North Sumatra to its golden age before the pandemic approached," Poppy said.

Poppy added that optimism must be maintained properly. The government must aggressively protect and anticipate. The government, the industrial sector, communities and community groups are expected to participate in developing tourism development.

Head of USU KK-PKDT & PB Working Group Ir. Nurlisa Ginting, MSc, PhD, IPM submitted her report on the condition of tourism in North Sumatra, especially Lake Toba. He explained, the number of tourist visits greatly affects the number of workers for the local community. The decline in the number of tourist visits that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic also affected entrepreneurs in the tourism industry who were forced to reduce the number of their workforce.

"The community needs to be prepared with various skills such as skills as guides, translators, financial managers, marketing managers, and others who will be managed in the Creative and Innovation Agency," Nurlisa said.

Based on the survey, the pandemic resulted in most of the tourism actors in the area around Lake Toba temporarily diverting the family's source of economic income from the tourism sector to the agricultural sector.

"Local heroes need to be encouraged to keep motivating the participation of local communities in the midst of a pandemic," she said.

Regarding measures to restore the tourism sector in North Sumatra, Head of the Tourism Business Object Development Division of the Provsu Culture and Tourism Office (Disbudparsu), Maike M Ritonga said that Disbudparsu carried out a program of activities to support sustainable tourism development.

These programs are in the form of programs to increase the attractiveness of tourism destinations, human resource development programs for tourism and the creative economy, cultural development programs, and tourism marketing programs.

"We are increasing the competitiveness of the tourism sector through structuring tourist areas and cultural heritage, developing tourism areas for Langkat, Madina and the Nias Islands," continued Maike.

Lake Toba, which is a super priority destination, will be built optimally. In addition, the Cultural Heritage of the Langkat and Bawomataluo Sultanates to the National Building and the Merdeka Square will also be taken seriously. Digitization of tourism promotion will also be developed.

On the same occasion, Head of the Sub-Directorate of Digital Economy Governance II of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) Muhamad Tidar Hetsaputra explained, as an effort to restore tourism, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has targeted vaccination of up to 95% of tourism and creative economy actors in Indonesia through cross-sector collaboration.

"We are also taking steps to restore tourism and the creative economy, namely market recovery and expansion, increasing human resource capacity, product and service innovation, revitalizing tourism destinations and creative and creative infrastructure, as well as increasing business resilience and competitiveness," Tidar said. (©ULC)

Author: Bambang Riyanto - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Humas - Humas