Fadli Zon: Indonesia's Cultural Wealth Can Become Potential for Culture-Based Tourism

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Culture Minister Fadli Zon stated that Indonesia’s vast cultural wealth could serve as a driving force for culture-based tourism. In a statement confirmed from Jakarta on Thursday, Fadli Zon said that Indonesia’s cultural tourism potential ranges from the world’s oldest prehistoric paintings, aged around 67,800 years on Muna Island, to various cultural heritage sites and living heritage scattered throughout the country. He noted that this extraordinary cultural richness, with a high level of diversity, is reflected in 2,723 nationally recorded intangible cultural heritage items, 16 of which have been recognised by UNESCO. “Cultural tourism has tremendous economic potential. For example, the management of the Palace of Versailles in France generates around 30 billion rupiah per day from ticket sales, not including merchandise revenue. This demonstrates that culture can strengthen the economy through the development of cultural economy and creative industries,” said the Culture Minister. He added that in developing cultural economy, from the perspective of cultural development, cross-sectoral collaboration is needed, involving government, private sector, academics, communities, and media. Fadli also conveyed the government’s role in opening up public-private partnership opportunities for the revitalisation of cultural sites. “There are also our cultural sites that are supported and assisted by the private sector, corporations, and even philanthropic individuals who love culture,” explained the Culture Minister. Fadli also encouraged the transformation of cultural sites so that they are not just static monuments, but develop as living heritage that is relevant and useful for society. According to him, by collaborating especially with entrepreneurs in the cultural tourism sector, it will yield good results and become a mutually beneficial symbiosis. “Cultural development cannot be carried out by the government alone. A healthy cultural ecosystem requires cross-sectoral collaboration, from government, civil society, SOEs, business world, private sector, corporations, media, academics, and communities,” stressed the Culture Minister. During this event, PEWIBI awarded the 2026 Cultural Figure Award to the Culture Minister, Fadli Zon, as a form of appreciation for his track record focused on the field of culture.