Ministry of Villages’ Director General of Disadvantaged Regions Samsul Widodo (right) received a placard as a token of homestay standardization assistance program and TelkomGroup internet connection in tourist destinations in Sumba. Telkom East Nusa Tenggara Region General Manager, Samsurizal Aruni handed over the placard after the signing of a Collective Labor Agreement for the tourist village digitalization program in Waihura, Wanokaka, West Sumba, on Monday (16/3).

Telkom introduces the Telkom Digital Travel & Tourism Solution program, known as TITAN, by using the e-ticketing (TITAN Ticketing) and e-reservation homestay (TITAN Stay) in eight tourist attractions and nine homestays as a pilot project. LinkAja also takes part to support the program by collaborating with 18 merchants in Sumba.
 

Visitors can purchase tickets to visit Liberani Mangrove Ecotourism, in Bali Loku village of Wanokaka sub-district in West Sumba on the TITAN Ticketing application. Through TITAN, Telkom is ready to support digitizing tourism in Indonesia, especially in East Nusa Tenggara, where there is a big potential to develop the tourism sector. 

Jakarta, 18 March 2020 – Having more than 162 tourism objects and seven very exotic cultural events, villages on Sumba Island in ??West Nusa Tenggara province are included among villages in the frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged (3T) regions that have the potential to become tourist villages. The Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration collaborates with PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Telkom) to carry out the digitalization of tourist villages in the Sumba region. Telkom introduces the Telkom Digital Travel & Tourism Solution program, known as TITAN, by using the              e-ticketing (TITAN Ticketing) and e-reservation homestay (TITAN Stay) in eight tourist attractions and nine homestays as a pilot project. LinkAja also takes part to support the program by collaborating with 18 merchants in Sumba.

Ministry of Villages’ Director General of Disadvantaged Regions, Samsul Widodo and Telkom East Nusa Tenggara Region General Manager, Samsurizal Aruni signed a Collective Labor Agreement for the tourist village digitalization program, followed by the launch of tourism village digitalization program in Waihura, Wanokaka, West Sumba, Monday (16/3).

A day before the launch, Ministry of Villages’ Director General of Disadvantaged Regions Samsul Widodo tried to use the e-ticketing system at the Sumba Cultural Traditional House, accompanied by Sumba Cultural Traditional House founder, Rev. Peter Robert Ramone. The implementation of TITAN will make it easier for tourists to get access to cultural tourism in the Sumba area, as well as to boost revenue for the local community. 

In his remarks, Director General Widodo said "the digitalization program, especially e-ticketing, is an easy solution for tourists because they can conduct the transactions remotely." He added that in the future, the Village Ministry expects that the program could develop further such as to become a one-stop-solution package for tourists, and tourists can visit the destination where they can take pictures wearing the local traditional costumes and enjoy local specialties for lunches.

Telkom Digital Business Director, Faizal R. Djoemadi, said during a separate ocassion that Telkom appreciates the government, notably the Village Ministry, for their trust in Telkom to participate in developing national tourism. "Through the TITAN program, Telkom is ready to support the digitization of tourism in Indonesia, including in East Nusa Tenggara where the tourism potential is high," Faizal said.
Telkom also provided assistance for homestay standardization to village chiefs in Waihura, Bali Loku, and Waimangoma as these villages would be part of Telkom’s village assistance program. 

Sumba is the initial village in the tourist village digitalization program which will include 52 tourist villages with 35 villages in Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara and 17 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. 

Faizal said he hopes the village digitalization will benefit tourists and locals. Hopefully the success in village digitization in East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara provinces will make them the pilot villages for the program implementation in other villages across Indonesia. "This an innovation of  Telkom and the result of its collaboration to support the digital tourism ecosystem in Indonesia and the acceleration of the development in disadvantaged regions,” Faizal said.