Three Indonesian students were named winners of the 2017 Forum on International Tourism and Environment (FITE) Business Solutions competition held at Bandung's School of Tourism (STP Bandung) in West Java on March 12 and 13.

The event was initiated by the French Institute in Indonesia (IFI) and the French Embassy in Indonesia in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry.

The three winners, namely Inasa Ori Sativa from STP Bandung and Desy Ekaputri and Pande Putu Wulandari, both from STP Bali, managed to beat the other top 10 finalists and received the opportunity to participate in a study tour to France for their environmentally sustainable tourism business proposal. Inasa suggested the utilization of water hyacinths in Rawa Pening in Central Java as craft product material, while Pande's proposal involved reusing coffee waste in Tegallalang in Bali.

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Selamat kepada Inasa Ori Sativa (STP NHI Bandung), Desy Ekaputri (STP Bali) dan Pande Putu Wulandari (STP Bali) yang menjadi juara dalam Kompetisi #FITE Business Solution 2017! Hadir dalam acara pengumuman dan penyerahan hadiah secara simbolis, Menteri Pariwisata Bapak Arif Yahya dan Konselor Kerjasama dan Kebudayaan Kedubes Prancis Bapak Marc Piton, 13 Maret 2017 di Bandung. Ketiga pemenang mendapat kesempatan Study Tour ke Prancis!!

A post shared by Institut Français Indonesia (@ifi_indonesia) on Mar 12, 2017 at 11:48pm PDT

French Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Jean-Charles Berthonnet said the competition was held to coincide with the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism of Development by the United Nations. “Both France and Indonesia are committed to developing initiatives about the development of environmentally sustainable tourism."

He added that the event served as a place for tourism students to contribute to the goal by showing their creativity and entrepreneurship.

More than 100 Indonesian university students sent proposals to compete in the 2017 FITE Business Solutions competition.

FITE particularly highlights student research and publications related to sustainable tourism. Among its activities are a business solution competition and discussions with people from the government, education and research fields from Indonesia and France. (kes)