Jakarta – The 2021 Esports President Cup (PPE) is a momentum to reopen tourism as it has the potential to encourage sports-based tourism, Presidential Staff (KSP) chief Moeldoko has said.
He made the statement during the 2021 PPE kick-off on Saturday as quoted by a press release from the Presidential Staff Office received here on Saturday.
“It is an incredible potential. Esports can bring up sports tourism, and this is great for Indonesian tourism,” Moeldoko remarked.
According to him, the development of sports-based tourism is currently the government’s special focus and it is working on many sports events.
It is an endeavor to restore the country’s tourism sector that has been affected by the pandemic, he added.
Moeldoko then invited various levels of society to realize and create an environment that supports the development of the esports industry.
“I invite all parties to collaborate and synergize in order to advance the esports industry as the development of the tourism ecosystem and creative economy in Indonesia,” he said.
The 2021 Esports President Cup kick-off featured six games: Mobile Legends, e-Football PES 2021, PUBG Mobile, Speed Chess, Free Fire, and local game Lokapala. The total prizes contested amounted to Rp2 billion.
The 2021 Esports PPE qualifying match started at 3 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Standards Time) on October 9, 2021. The grand final will be held on December 19, 2021.
According to KSP data, Indonesia is the largest country in the gaming industry market in the Asia-Pacific and was ranked 12th globally in 2020.
Moreover, the market in Indonesia was estimated to be Rp14 trillion in 2019, with the gaming industry recording an annual over 10-percent growth rate, it said.
Based on this potential, President Joko Widodo initiated the first PPE tournament in 2019.
Anang Fadhilah
