Deputy Tourism Minister Visits Bali To Check On G20 Preparations

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Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Angela Tanoesoedibjo, visited Bali this week for a press tour and to check in on preparations for the G20 Summit in November. The 2-day conference will see heads of state, industry leaders, and their delegations head to Bali to discuss how the trade block can ‘recover together, recover stronger’.

Priority areas for the 17th G20 Summit are global health architecture, digital transformation, and sustainable energy transition. 

The conference is a chance for Bali to be showcased on the world stage, in light of the pandemic it is vital for Indonesia that the conference goes well and demonstrates how the country plays an essential role in the world’s economy. A successful G20 Summit will help increase both business investment in Bali and help increase the strength of the tourism, green energy, tech, and agriculture sectors.

The G20 Summit is one of the biggest events ever hosted in Bali and the Indonesian government is taking its presidency of the event seriously. They are invested huge amounts of money in improving infrastructure, including the creation of a VVIP terminal at Ngurah Rai Airport.

Minster Angela Tanoesoedibjo visited key venues and met with organizers to discuss the project’s progress to date. She and her team visited the Sofitel in Nusa Dua and the InterContinential Bali Resort which will both play host to heads of state for the duration of their stay in Bali.

The InterContinential Bali Resort will also host a special event for the spouses of heads of state. Although Minster Tanoesoedibjo was assessing overall preparations, she has been tasked with personally overseeing the G20 Summit Spousal Events Programme.

The G20 Summit Spousal Events Programme will be hosted by President Joko Widodo’s wife Ibu Iriana. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, the UK Prime Minster’s wife Carrie Johnson, and France’s Brigitte Macron amongst others will all attend special events and dinners over the conference week. 

Minster Tanoesoedibjo also met with local chefs for a food tasting to sample the menus that will be served to world leaders and their delegations at the formal dinners of the conference. She said “We don’t only pay attention to food. We also ensure safety, comfort, and distance to the location for the wives of the heads of state’.

Typically the spouses of world leaders participate in events focusing on social issues and usually meet with local school children to learn about their experiences of the world. The full G20 Summit Spousal Events Programme has yet to be released, but it is known that the InterContinential Bali Resort will be a key venue for the spousal delegation. 

The G20 Summit is just one of a series of international conferences Bali is playing host to in 2022. So far this year the island has hosted the UN’s 7th Global Platform For Disaster Risk Reduction which was a resounding success. The summit was attended by representatives from all 198 recognized countries amounting to over 4,000 delegates.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday 20th June, Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno shared how hosting big international conferences is a strategic part of the government’s plan for economic recovery in the tourism sector.

He shared how he hoped that by diversifying the tourism-related experiences Bali can offer that the sector will recover quickly and remain strong. The next big conference in Bali is the International Ecotourism Conference that will be held in West Bali National Park in July.

He said set new tourism targets for Bali and aims to welcome 1.5 million international tourists and 7 million domestic arrives. He explained ‘We will reach this [target] with approaches that become our programs, such as sports tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions), international events, and tourist villages’.

The G20 is the pinnacle event of Indonesia’s political and events calendar and Minster Tanoesoedibjo gave her seal of approval to preparations to date.