Jakarta (malangkota.go.id) – The commitment of the Malang City Government (Pemkot) in strengthening the creative economy and tourism in Malang City has received appreciation at the national level. The Regional Appreciation Award for Caring for Creative Economy and Tourism Innovation was presented by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno to the Mayor of Malang Drs. H. Sutiaji at the Indonesia 12aya KompasTV event series in Jakarta, Monday (11/9/2023).
"We dedicate this appreciation to our beloved Bumi Arema which continues to develop the creative economy and tourism. This appreciation is a boost that adds enthusiasm so that creative economy and tourism activities in Malang City will grow rapidly," said Mayor Sutiaji after receiving the award.
In addition to being famous as the City of Education and its culinary specialty, namely meatballs, Malang City is also known as the City of Tourism. Various innovations have been carried out by the Malang City Government to support the creative economy and tourism in Malang City.
"Actually, apart from Malang meatballs and being known as the City of Education, Malang City is now known as a Creative City. Last February, Malang City received the 2023 National Development Innovation Award for the Education Center and Creative Economy Development category. So from here, our direction is to make Malang City a barn of quality Indonesian human resources, with the hope that this potential will become the initial foundation for the creative economy sector," explained the bespectacled man.
The Malang City Government's commitment to strengthening the creative economy is manifested in the construction of the Malang Creative Center (MCC). The presence of MCC further solidifies the steps to become a world Creative City. As of July 2023, there have been more than a thousand activities by creative people carried out at MCC since its soft launching in December 2022.
"In line with our initial goal, our step is to establish the Malang Creative Center or MCC, as a place for creative economy actors to collaborate and develop together to revive the economy. The hope is that in the future these creative people will have a strong sense of belonging and make MCC their home of development, because MCC was born from bottom-up aspirations that show that Malang City does not only rely on top-down concepts in carrying out development," he explained further.
Innovative, adaptive, and collaborative are the spirit to realize the face of a Creative City that leads to improving the welfare of its people. He said, for the tourism sector, currently Malang City has 53 tourist destinations, 23 of which are thematic villages. This is inseparable from the realization and innovation to achieve Malang City as a Smart City with tourism, namely the development of Malang City as Malang Heritage Tourism through Kayutangan Heritage.
"Every month, tens of thousands of tourists can come to Kayutangan Heritage. And Malang is also famous for its processed food souvenirs, the presence of innovative and contemporary processed products I think is very appropriate to maximize the economic potential of tourism in Malang City," said the number one person in the Malang City Government.
Also attending the 12th anniversary of KompasTV were the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ma'ruf Amin, the fifth President of the Republic of Indonesia Megawati Soekarnoputri, the tenth and twelfth Vice Presidents Jusuf Kalla, the eleventh Vice President Boediono, the ministers of the Advanced Indonesia cabinet, the Chairman of the MPR Bambang Soesatyo, the Chief of Police General (pol) Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the Commander of the TNI Admiral Yudo Margono, Anies Baswedan, and other national figures. (yul/yon)
