Jokowi: Don't Be Pessimistic, Indonesian Tourism Will Boom Next Year

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo ordered his ministers to protect the tourism business and creative economy in Indonesia so that they can survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes, next year, the tourism sector will experience an increase after the pandemic ends.

"I believe this (COVID-19) will only last until the end of the year. Next year there will be a boom in the tourism sector," he said when opening a limited meeting broadcast on the Cabinet Secretariat's YouTube account, Thursday, April 16.

He is optimistic that tourists will come to various regions to enjoy the beauty of tourist attractions next year. So, Jokowi asked his men to be optimistic about this. "Do not get caught up in pessimism due to COVID-19 so that the boom that will emerge after COVID cannot be utilized properly," he said.

To maintain optimism in the field of tourism and the creative economy, Jokowi ordered his ministers to formulate several things, including the issue of providing social protection to workers in the tourism sector such as hotels and restaurants.

He advised his ministers that social protection for these workers must be ensured and reach those who really need it.

If possible, Jokowi asked for a labor-intensive program for those working in the tourism sector.

"Third, preparing an economic stimulus for business actors in the tourism and creative economy sectors. This must be true so that they can survive and do not carry out massive layoffs," he said.

Since the spread of COVID-19, the tourism sector, especially the hotel and restaurant sector, has experienced a decline in profits due to the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) which has resulted in fewer guests coming.

As a result, the manager must temporarily close their hotel until an indefinite time. The hotel business during COVID-19 also flared up and affected employees who were sent home. Some even ended up termination of employment (PHK).

From the data obtained by VOI from the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), as of April 1, 2020, 1,714 hotels have closed. With details, there are employees who are on leave status, some are on leave without pay, and some have laid off their employees.

Head of PHRI DKI Jakarta, Krishnadi said, the occupancy rate of hotels in the country since early March has indeed decreased significantly compared to January or February.

"January-February still varies, in the range of 40-60 percent. So in early March it fell to 20 percent. At the end of March it was even worse, it was below 10 percent," he explained to VOI some time ago.

In fact, according to him, in normal conditions, the hotel was busy in April. The occupancy in March when conditions were normal, said Krishnadi, should be at its highest.

"Well, this is actually below 10 percent. In fact, I am sure, now it is below 5 percent. Never mind calculating the percentage, there are those who stay 1 to 10 doors away," said Krishnadi.

As a result, the manager temporarily closed the hotel. This was also done because he followed the government's appeal. Now what is affected, is the employees who have to be laid off, and even have to be laid off.

According to Krishnadi, related to this matter, he left the policies to each hotel manager. Because according to him, the manager knows better how the company's financial condition is.

Even though he has recorded how many hotels are closed, he admits that he does not have any data on the number of employees who were dismissed or laid off.

"For the data on how many hotel losses and how many layoffs, of course it is still being calculated by each manager," he said.