The Peduli Sampah (Taking Care of Waste) Movement was carried out by the BUMN Tourism Holding and Supporters PT Aviasi Wisata Indonesia (Persero) or InJourney, together with PT Hotel Indonesia Natour (HIN) on the Marina Waterfront Coast of Labuan Bajo, last Thursday, January 26, 2023.

This activity was carried out to make Labuan Bajo a World Class Tourism Destination, as well as a form of support for the smooth and successful implementation of the ASEAN Summit which will be held in May 2023.

In addition to the local community, participating in this activity were the West Manggarai Regency Government, the Komodo National Park (TNK), and in collaboration with the Trash Hero Community, along with several others.

The Beautiful and Clean Labuan Bajo movement is an effort by InJourney to increase the awareness of tourists, business owners, and residents in making Labuan Bajo a clean and waste-free tourism destination.

"As one of the Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP), Labuan Bajo has an extraordinary appeal that has the potential to become a magnet for domestic and foreign tourists. For this reason, through this activity we also want to raise awareness and concern for the community to continue to preserve and preserve the natural beauty of Labuan Bajo and at the same time make this our shared responsibility," said Herdy Harman, Director of Human Resources & Digital InJourney.

Also attending the activity was the Regent of West Manggarai, Edistasius Endi, he expressed his appreciation to InJourney for initiating the Waste Care Movement and making Labuan Bajo the pilot project location for this activity.

"I am very happy that this morning there are so many people involved where we unite our enthusiasm to work together to clean up the shipwrecks and clean up the trash. This is very good for forming the mindset of the community that tourism is not only beautiful in its spots but the environment must also be clean and free of trash," said Endi.

This activity prioritizes management and development that can have a long-term impact on environmental, social, cultural sustainability, ecosystem balance, and economic benefits. This activity is the first in which its implementation will be continued for other Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP) to support the growth of Indonesian tourism that is able to compete internationally.

President Director of PT HIN, Christine Hutabarat said that this activity is a form of collaboration spirit for the development of quality and sustainable tourism destinations.

"The activity of the Labuan Bajo Garbage Care Movement is our joint effort to have a long-term positive impact and empower communities around the area. We hope that this activity, which was carried out collaboratively with the BUMN Foundation, InJourney, and Bank BRI, apart from playing a role in the success of the ASEAN Summit, will also support the development of Labuan Bajo as a world-class tourism destination in the long term," concluded Christine.

On this occasion, Bank BRI also carried out the removal of shipwrecks and the handing over of boat engine assistance to fishermen by Bank BRI through the Profit Joint Business Cooperative (KUB), which was welcomed by the environmental community "Trash Hero Komodo".

Vira, Head of the Trash Hero Komodo Community, who also attended the activity said that she was very happy about the collaboration carried out by BUMN, the Regional Government, the community, and also the surrounding community.

This event was carried out in line with the Government's program to make Labuan Bajo a quality and sustainable tourism destination.