Pessimism Of Hotel Entrepreneurs About Additional Joint Leave

JAKARTA - The Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) said the addition of holidays and leave with Eid al-Fitr 1441 H or 2020 will not have a significant impact on the tourism sector. The reason is, the spread of the corona virus or COVID-19 will actually reduce purchasing power.

PHRI Chairperson Hariyadi Sukamdani said that currently there was also panic in the community regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. So, he said, people prefer to stay at home.

"We convey that our records in 2018 actually added holidays that did not have a significant impact on our tourism. If we look at a situation like this, we will not be so sure, because in 2018 it is like that. We see the effect is not that big," he said, while holding a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday, March 12.

According to him, with the current condition, people's purchasing power is decreasing. In addition, according to him, the COVID-19 outbreak will affect purchasing power.

The panic in the community, said Hariyadi, had a negative impact on the economy. Currently, all sectors are experiencing very serious problems with the performance of each sector, especially tourism.

"This happened in January and it was also exacerbated. Apart from panic in the community, the government itself has also prohibited its activities. This is contradictory," he explained.

On the other hand, the additional holiday time will actually hurt entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector. Hariyadi said this was due to the difficulty of the manufacturing industry in obtaining raw materials.

"Even for manufacturing itself, what happens is a decrease in productivity," he explained.

Moreover, said Hariyadi, the incentive stimulus provided by the government could not be felt. According to him, it is not ineffective to provide tax-free incentives for hotels and restaurants for the six months, but the problem is that the execution of these incentives takes time.

"Because the concept of the central government is to replace income from hotel and restaurant taxes that are lost due to being zeroed. So that's what happened. Actually, if we look at the impact of this, it is not only limited to 10 destinations," he said.

Hariyadi revealed that DKI Jakarta has also begun to experience the same thing as hotels and restaurants in other areas. Therefore, it is necessary to see what is clear at this time is how to maintain the company, be it hotels or other companies that are affected.