Dozens Of Hotels Put White Flags With Crying Emoticon, Sandiaga Affirms To Save Tourism

BANDUNG - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno responded to business actors in the tourism and creative economy sectors who raised the white flag during the Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) period.

According to Menparekraf Sandiaga, in Indonesia, there are 34 million business actors in the tourism and creative economy sectors that need to be saved in order to survive during this social restriction.

"Don't let the tourism and creative economy centers fly the 'white flag', we need strength, one of which is through vaccination", said Sandiaga, quoted by Antara, Friday, July 23.

The Menparekraf appreciated the Air Force Staff School (Sesko AU) for being willing to provide a place for vaccinations to the public, including tourism actors in Lembang.

Because it is one of the government's efforts to mobilize all elements of the nation in the accelerated vaccination program in order to achieve group immunity.

According to him, West Java is one area that is under heavy pressure over the PPKM.

Therefore, he asked the public, especially creative economy players, to come to a number of vaccination centers that have been provided by the local government.

"The effectiveness of the vaccination has been proven, the current pandemic has polarized society, a pandemic for those who have been vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated, and those who have not been sufficiently affected", said Sandiaga.

Meanwhile, the Head of the West Java Tourism Industry Division, Lusi Lesminingwati, said that in West Java alone there were as many as 75.000 tourism actors.

She did not deny that the vaccination rate in West Java is still low, which is only 20 percent compared to the total vaccination target in West Java.

"So we are proud of this activity from Kemenparekraf, we accept it with joy, and the implementation at Sesko AU is very orderly", said Lusi.

Hotels With White Flag in Garut

A total of 30 hotels and restaurants in Garut Regency, West Java put up white flags with crying emoticons as an act of expressing sadness related to their lonely business due to Emergency PPKM.

"We put white flags on hotels and restaurants, this is an expression of our sadness with the current business conditions", said Head of the Garut Regency Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Deden Rohim, quoted by Antara, Monday, July 19.

He said the red and white flag with the image of crying had been installed in a number of hotels and restaurants in the urban area of Garut as an expression of entrepreneurs related to current business conditions that continued to be concerning.

Hotel and restaurant businesses in Garut, he said, have been trying to survive the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the current conditions continue to be empty of visitors due to the impact of Emergency PPKM.

"We should have been struggling for almost two years with this covid, this (flagging) is a reflection, our hearts are crying", he said.

Deden revealed that the current business conditions have made it difficult for business actors to bear employee costs and other basic operational costs, one of which is electricity bills.