I Gde Pitana has resigned from his position at Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism as deputy minister covering Indonesia, South-east Asia, Australia and Oceania, effective yesterday.
The sudden resignation has taken the industry by surprise.
In a circular made available to TTG Asia, Pitana said he stepped down to “return to my original habitat”. He said the step was taken “to pursue my personal goals” as a professor of Tourism at Udayana University, Bali.
Pitana said: “It has been too long since I left the world of education. It’s time to return to serve the university that raised me.”
He added: “I want to build tourism through education, because skilled human resources are the key to the future of Indonesian tourism. My duties and obligations are much bigger now.”
While leaving his current post, Pitana’s duty at the Ministry of Tourism will not end here. Tourism minister Arief Yahya has assigned him as ‘an expert staff’ for areas covering marketing and tourism cooperation.
Until the minister inaugurates a new deputy, all formal matters concerning Pitana’s are handled by an acting deputy, namely Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani.
