Weakening Of Rupiah Does Not Boost Tourist Visits To Bali

JAKARTA - Economic observer from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Abdul Manap Pulungan said that the trend of weakening the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar did not significantly affect the increase in foreign tourist visits in Bali.

"Because it is compensated for the potential for more expensive costs at hotels, food costs, tickets due to fuel costs," said Abdul in Denpasar, Bali, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, April 17.

According to him, in the short term, the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate has pushed for an increase in prices because several components of tourism demand are also supported by a number of imported products.

In addition, the trend of weakening the rupiah exchange rate has the potential to increase the cost for air transportation tickets due to the influence of avtur fuel prices.

Meanwhile, domestic tourists, he continued, also have the potential to brake spending, especially for traveling because since last year there has been high inflation from foodstuffs.

On the other hand, he hopes that tourism business actors do not immediately adjust tariffs but need to be done gradually so that consumers are not surprised.

"So the stages need to be done gradually, there is no need for immediate execution (price increases) to the highest level, it can shock consumers," he said.

Bali tourism, according to him, already has a big name among world travelers so that special hospitality and culture must be maintained, in addition to being supported by attractive nature.

The rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar this Wednesday opened down influenced by inflation data on the United States (US) Consumer Price Index in March 2024 which rose with an achievement of more than IDR 16 thousand per US dollar.

At the start of trading Wednesday morning, the rupiah slipped 76 points or 0.47 percent to Rp. 16,252 per US dollar from the previous Rp. 16,176 per US dollar.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo emphasized that his party is always in the market to maintain the stabilization of the rupiah exchange rate, amidst the current global conflict escalation.

"BI is always in the market and we will make sure the stabilization of the exchange rate will be maintained, we continue to intervene both in the spot and Non Delivery Forward (NFD)," Perry said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Tuesday, April 16.

Meanwhile, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Bali, the number of foreign tourists in Bali in 2023 reached 5.27 million, an increase of 144 percent compared to 2022 reaching 2.1 million people.

The achievement of foreign tourist visits approached the realization in 2019 or before the COVID-19 pandemic which touched 6.3 million foreign tourists. Meanwhile, foreign tourists visiting until February 2024, BPS Bali recorded 874 thousand people, an increase of 33.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023 which reached 655 thousand people.