The ASEAN Summit 2023 event was able to have a very positive impact, namely being able to improve the welfare of the people in Labuan Bajo as the host. The reason is, in this event there will be many tourists from abroad coming to NTT and it will also be the best momentum to continue promoting tourism and MSME products for local residents.
West Manggarai Regent, Edistasius Endi hopes that the 42nd ASEAN Summit which will be held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) from 9 to 11 May 2023 will have an impact on improving the economy of local residents.
It is known that the ASEAN Summit 2023 itself is scheduled to take place for 3 (three) days at several venues such as Meruorah Labuan Bajo Hotel, Ayana Labuan Bajo Hotel and Puncak Waringin. Also included, at some of these points there were a number of MSMEs which were also exhibited for the guest delegation to see.
Not only MSMEs from the local community were exhibited, but in the ASEAN Summit activities, namely around the activity site there was the Kampung Ujung Labuan Bajo Culinary Center which also offered a variety of culinary delights from the local tourism area.
Furthermore, Regent Edi then added that all activities in Labuan Bajo, especially in the context of implementing the 2023 ASEAN Summit, have involved thousands of people, including those from the local community to people from outside the region itself.
Therefore, especially with the existence of super-priority tourism promoted by the Government of Indonesia can also have a positive impact on increasing local community businesses around the 2023 ASEAN Summit activity sites. Not to forget, the active role of all communities such as farmers and other MSME actors We hope to be able to continue to take advantage of this best momentum.
The whole community, including farmers and MSME actors, should be able to continue to show quality products and deserve to be showcased during international activities . Especially for culinary products, it is hoped that they will always maintain cleanliness and provide maximum service to guests when they want to visit.
The reason is, it cannot be denied that excellent service can be a very important factor. That’s because when the guests themselves are satisfied, then they will continue to come to that place. Therefore, all elements of society can be said to play an important role in being able to participate in pushing for the success of the 2023 ASEAN Summit.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Representative Office of Bank Indonesia (BI) for East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, Donny H. Heatubun stated that the election of Labuan Bajo as the host for the 2023 ASEAN Summit could certainly be the best momentum to strengthen economic growth in the NTT Province so that can be even better, especially in the tourism sector so that it also contributes to improving people’s welfare.
Donny added that NTT’s economic performance has so far remained strong , mainly due to the continued improvement in domestic demand which is also increasing. Improvement in domestic demand is reflected in how good performance in various business fields is in NTT.
On another occasion, community leaders and religious leaders in Golo Mori Village, Komodo District, West Manggarai Regency, NTT also hoped that with the designation of the Golo Mori area as the Tana Mori Tourism Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as the location for the 2023 ASEAN Summit, it would be possible to increase the economic income of local people there.
In this regard, the Youth Leader of Golo Mori Village, Hasanudin said that the 2023 ASEAN Summit would be able to boost the economy in the area and could also help in terms of tourism which had been in suspended animation for two and a half years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By making Labuan Bajo one of the venues for the 2023 ASEAN Summit, it is tantamount to a form of international trust in Indonesia because these world-scale activities can be carried out under safe and conducive conditions in the country.
The implementation of the ASEAN Summit has great benefits and has an impact on improving the economy, although not directly but slowly the economy will revive
The Religious Leader of Golo Mori Village, Abdul Hadip Muksim emphasized that the tourism development process must be economically feasible, carried out efficiently to be able to provide significant economic benefits for regional development and increase the welfare of local communities in Golo Mori Village.
The welfare of the people of Labuan Bajo will certainly increase as a positive impact from holding the 2023 ASEAN Summit in the region, so it will automatically help to increase the economy of the local community.
)* The author is an Alumni of FISIP Unair
