Field Visit to Medan

Medan, Simalungun, Samosir, Toba

July 5-9 2022

As a sector that is able to provide multiplier effect to a fairly high economy, the tourism sector is one of the focuses of the Indonesian Government's development as written in the 2020-2024 RPJMN document. In this document, five Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP) were formed, one of which was the Lake Toba DPSP. In a joint meeting with Article 33 Indonesia, Mrs. Indri Astuti as a representative from the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia (KemenkoPMK), expressed the importance of strengthening Human Resources (HR) capacity and superior potential as one of the strategies for optimizing the tourism sector.

Together with the Coordinating Ministry for PMK and Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Article 33 Indonesia will conduct a special study entitled 'Regional Development Study based on Local Superior Potential in Supporting National Economic Recovery from the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic'. The study, which will be carried out in several areas around the Lake Toba DPSP, will be a reference for the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture in preparing the next intervention plan next year.

As a preparatory step, Article 33 Indonesia visited several study areas from 5 to 9 July 2022, such as Simalungun Regency, Samosir Regency and Toba Regency. The visit was aimed at advocating to the local government and obtaining further information regarding the situation in each region, especially regarding the economic potential and resources of the community. 

The North Sumatra provincial government revealed that there are various superior potentials in North Sumatra, but the main problem is around accessibility. For example, Berastagi is known for producing high quality carrots, but the distribution process experiences problems due to limited infrastructure. Not only regarding accessibility, the public has also not been able to market its superior products optimally. Simalungun Regency and Toba Regency are famous for their specialty coffee, but the community has not felt a big impact because of obstacles in the marketing process. 

The visit ended with blessings from each regional government and also a message that every study made could produce a real impact.