Halal Tourism’s Development Needs Collaboration Many Parties

Jakarta, MINA – The development of the halal-based tourism industry and creative economy for national development needs to be encouraged through collaboration between all stakeholders using the Pentahelix model, namely: central/regional government, private sector, academics, communities, and the media.

It was emphasized by the Muslim figure who The Future Leader Award ASN Kemenpan RB 2020, Edrida Pulungan, who was promoting innovation in tourism development and the creative economy with the Pentahelix model on the sidelines of the opening of the Hybrid Event Leaders Summit Asia – Global Tourism Forum (GTF) 2021 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Edrida succeeded in creating a role model on the creative economy with the Pentahelix model, starting from her birthplace in North Sumatra by fostering salak farmers.

Then she went to Medan City and then she did research in Kupang, namely researching weaving, until finally he also went to Palembang and made a collaboration on mapping tourism history and culture to Palembang for world tourism.

“The success of this innovation has been implemented in Palembang by branding the city as a historical and cultural tourist destination so that it can lift the regional economy during the pandemic,” said the woman born in 1982.

Edrida said the biggest challenge is collaboration which requires trust and program sustainability and coordination between parties. This challenge is not only in Indonesia but also globally.

Things to note, she continued, include that Indonesia, as the world’s largest Muslim country, also has a great opportunity to develop the halal economic industry which has been initiated since 2019.

For this reason, Edrida initiated the Creative Economy and Tourism Network Initiative, which aims to connect stakeholders in the halal-based tourism and creative economy by bringing together various groups, including creative and innovative young people who are ready to contribute to the development of the nation.

Sje hoped that the event with the theme “Reset, Revive, Refresh Tourism” which was opened by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ma’ruf Amin is a moment where halal tourism is encouraged to be an alternative choice for driving national economic recovery because it substantially carries aspects of health, cleanliness, and environmental friendliness.

Indonesia was selected to host the first global tourism forum in Asia, “Global Tourism Forum: Hybrid Event Leaders Summit Asia Indonesia 2021,” on 15-16 September 2021.

GTF 2021 held ‘hybrid’, only 70 participants are physically present in Jakarta, while other participants take part in virtual activities from all over the world.

GTF itself is an initiative of the World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) which is a forum for international collaboration to overcome challenges for the tourism industry. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)