Udayana University Together with ACIAR and BRIN Holds a Focus Group Discussion on HORECA (Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Service)

Udayana University (Unud) together with ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agricultural Research) and BRIN (National Research and Innovation Agency) held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) HORECA (Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Service) with the theme Developing Local Agribusiness-Tourism Value Chains System, Inclusive for Smallholders: Gaps and Opportunities which took place on Wednesday (7/8/2024), at the Mercure Resort Sanur, Denpasar. 

This activity is a follow-up to the collaboration between Udayana University, ACIAR (Australian Center for International Agricultural Research) and BRIN (National Research and Innovation Agency) regarding the Agriculture for Tourism research project: Creating Resilient Communities through Smallholder-Inclusive Tourism Market in Indonesia.

Prof. Supartha Utama as the Project's Country Coordinator in his report said that the implementation of this FGD was a form of follow-up to the baseline survey which was carried out in June-July 2024 in Hotel, Restaurant and Catering services (HORECA) throughout Bali, in the same period as well. carried out a literature review on Agri-tourism food value chains system: Gaps and Constraints. This FGD is an important step in overcoming the gap between the tourism sector and the agricultural sector and through collaborative discussions it is hoped that it can identify the main challenges and opportunities in integrating local agricultural products into the HORECA sector.

The FGD was opened by the Vice Rector for Planning, Cooperation and Information, Prof. I Putu Gede Adiatmika. In his speech, Prof. Adiatmika appreciated the implementation of this activity which was a follow-up to Unud's collaboration with ACIAR. With this workshop, it is hoped that it will provide maximum results and the participants will be able to discuss collaboration in the agricultural and tourism sectors which will later be able to strengthen the relationship between tourism and local agriculture in Indonesia.

To the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, which on this occasion was represented by the Head of Tourism Marketing, Ida Ayu Indah Yustikarini, in her speech, hoped that this workshop or FGD could produce various inputs which could later be used as a basis for making regulations related to tourism and hoped that this activity could bringing Bali towards a sustainable tourism sector. 

Also present at this workshop was Mr. Jeremy Badgery Parker, as Indonesia's Project Manager-ACIAR, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University, Udayana University Research Team and BRIN research team.