Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Sandiaga Uno announced in Jakarta on Monday (27/11/23) that the Toba Caldera Resort in North Sumatra, which is managed by the Lake Toba Authority Agency (BPODT), has been successful in closing two more investments for 2024, according to reporting from Antara News.
Sandiaga said that the BPODT has reached cooperation agreements with TOCA Resort and Mitra Jaya, adding that “TOCA Resort will start developing additional facilities in the form of 20-units of accommodations,” and Mitra Jaya is planning to construct eco-friendly accommodations in June 2024 to cater to the steadily increasing number of tourists visiting Lake Toba.
“Green tourism has been one of the aspects that is instrumental for attracting investment, as we have seen high demands for this kind of tourism. Hence, we need to build structures that are friendly to nature rather than merely massive ones,” he said, according to Antara News.
He then noted that as many as 300,000 tourists have visited the Toba Caldera Resort this year while expressing optimism that the figure would continue to increase, considering that more facilities will be developed at the resort.
Antara News say that Sandiaga also drew attention to several international events held at Toba Lake, such as the 2023 Aquabike Jetski World Championship and Asia Pacific Rally Championship, saying that such events significantly increased revenue.
“Several development projects being executed here are also expected to provide direct impacts on the welfare of locals. The government continues to construct roads, ports, and airports. We are currently finishing the construction of Sibisa Airport,” he said.
By developing the airport and a toll road, he affirmed that the government would realize international-level connectivity in the Toba Lake area.
Meanwhile, President Director of BPODT Jimmy Bernando Pandjaitan revealed that his side had received an investment value totaling IDR 2-trillion (approx. USD 128.8-million) in the Toba Caldera Resort.
The total value includes the newly agreed investments of approximately IDR 100-billion (approx. USD 6.4-million) with TOCA Resort and about IDR 500-billion (approx. USD 32.2-million) with Mitra Jaya.
“In total, the investment value has reached IDR 2-trillion,” he noted.
Source: Antara News
Stock image by Daniel Morris from Pixabay
