By: Janet Theresia )*
The side event of the Group of Twenty Summit (G20 Summit), namely Women of Twenty (W20) will be held in West Papua. The election of West Papua makes the people there happy, because this international event will bring many benefits, especially in the field of tourism.
The G20 Summit has a special side event for women, namely W20. In this event, the participants are of course exclusively women and the issues discussed are women’s issues, for example the empowerment of mothers, gender equality, etc. All participants will gain new knowledge so that they can pass it on to their people when they return home.
The W20 participants were 20 first ladies (from the participants of the G20 Summit), there were also representatives from ASEAN countries, Asia Pacific, as well as archipelagic countries around Indonesia. They came not only to accompany the husband but also to the W20 meeting so that they got new horizons.
The W20 event which was held in West Papua was a very good moment to introduce tourism on the Earth of Cendrawasih. Later, Mrs. Jill Biden, the first lady of the United States, Mrs. Jennifer Morrison, the first lady of Australia, and other participants will see the exotic nature of West Papua which is fascinating.
W20 participants will see how beautiful the Raja Ampat Islands are, which are famous for their strong corals and clear seas, making them fun for swimming and diving. They were fascinated by Raja Ampat and then spontaneously took a photo of it and uploaded it to their respective social media accounts, and it became an indirect promotion for tourism in West Papua.
Apart from Raja Ampat, there are still several tourist attractions in West Papua such as Wayag Island, Pasir Timbul Beach, etc. All fun to visit as a fatigue reliever. Tourism in Cendrawasih Earth can really be promoted through the W20 event, no wonder the people there cheered because it was trusted by the government to be the host for the side event of the G20 Summit.
The event participants also saw that tourism in West Papua is safe, in the sense that everything is in accordance with health protocols or health procedures. Indeed, during the pandemic, health procedures must be carried out strictly so that they do not contract the corona virus and they feel safe when they relax there.
A sense of security is also felt because in West Papua there is absolutely no disturbance from separatist groups, because the apparatus has completely sterilized it. Event participants can see that Papua is very safe and there is no need to worry about being hit by stray bullets or throwing arrows. So they can travel happily and invite their people to Papua.
When the W20 event is held in West Papua, there can also be cooperation between countries in the tourism sector. For example, for Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, the West Papua regional government can provide special halal tour packages, so they are not afraid to eat non-halal meat while on Cendrawasih Earth.
In this way, the tourism sector in West Papua will be repaired after the W20 and the tourism sector will rise again after previously being hit by a pandemic. After two years, tourism in Papua must be improved, one of which is with W20.
The W20 event held in West Papua is a huge gift because usually international forums are only held in Jakarta or Bali. West Papua was chosen because this province has great potential. In addition, W20 can revive the tourism sector in Papua so that it can rise again during the pandemic.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Bandung
