By: Farsca Risca
The holding of the ASEAN Summit or ASEAN Summit 2023 in Labuan Bajo on 9-11 May 2023 is certainly the best momentum to continue to encourage and promote the region to become a super priority tourist destination.
After the success of the Group of Twenty (G20) Presidency event, now Indonesia is again entrusted with playing a very important role and returning to the international arena as well, namely this nation has officially served as the chairmanship of ASEAN 2023 or ASEAN Chairmanship 2023.
ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) is an economic and political union of a number of countries in Southeast Asia which was founded on August 8, 1967 in Thailand. Indonesia is an active member of ASEAN, apart from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Timor Leste.
The 2023 ASEAN Summit Summit is getting closer and closer every day. Soon, for the first time, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara will host an international standard event.
Central and regional governments continue to intensify various venue preparations for a successful ASEAN Summit event which will take place in the Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition (MICE) area.
The people of West Manggarai Regency are very happy and enthusiastic because this is the first time the ASEAN Summit has been held in their area. This is a great honor because the government gives trust. The community welcomed the 2023 ASEAN Summit and promised to be friendly to every guest delegation who came.
The infrastructure built to support this event includes the construction of a round about Beach Club , wharf shelters, landscaping and installation of geomats on the Tana Mori road corridor, helipad, and construction of a parking lot with a capacity of 100 cars.
Previously, during a preparatory visit, President Jokowi stated that he wanted to ensure preparations for the ASEAN Summit. Several venues also look ready. Labuan Bajo is ready to carry out the 2023 ASEAN Summit.
West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi explained that West Manggarai Regency to become the venue for international scale activities is the dream of every Regional Government (Pemda).
He wants the people of West Manggarai NTT to feel the impact of the ASEAN Summit to take their respective roles, so that the ASEAN Summit event will have an economic impact on the local community Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and farmers are also asked to present good quality products. Endi also asked the public to maintain cleanliness and maintain security stability, as well as order ahead of the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo.
The West Manggarai Regent greatly appreciates President Jokowi’s decision to designate Labuan Bajo as the 42nd ASEAN Summit Venue. With this international event, he hopes it will have an impact on West Manggarai’s economic growth. In addition, it also has an impact on sustainable development to tourism. Because Labuan Bajo is increasingly recognized by ASEAN leaders. If the delegation guests come to NTT and are fascinated by its beauty, they will definitely plan to have a vacation later in the middle of the year or the end of the year.
The ASEAN Summit is very beneficial for the people of NTT, and the region will become increasingly known to Southeast Asians and the rest of the world. The tourism industry in NTT will definitely increase again. This excellent opportunity is due to the 2023 ASEAN Summit so that international journalists will be present to cover and then they will be amazed by the natural beauty of Labuan Bajo. If Labuan Bajo’s nature and tourism are highlighted by international media, the place will become more popular and it is hoped that foreign tourist visits will also increase.
The government wants Labuan Bajo and its surroundings to be recognized by delegates to the 2023 ASEAN Summit. Not only Bali is known as a tourist destination in Indonesia, but there are still NTT and other tourist areas that have great potential to be vacation spots.
)* The author is a Lantern Research Institute researcher
