BANTUL - The weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar in recent times has become a concern for many parties. Although it is often associated with increasing import costs and economic pressures, this condition can also present opportunities for certain sectors, one of which is tourism.
For foreign tourists who carry foreign currencies, the cost of vacation in Indonesia becomes relatively more affordable due to a more favorable exchange rate.
The opportunity was also seen by the Tourism Office (Dinpar) of Bantul Regency. Although it has not been seen to have a significant impact on the number of foreign tourist visits (wisman), the weakening of the rupiah is considered to have the potential to increase the attractiveness of Indonesia as a tourist destination.
The head of the Bantul Tourism Office, Saryadi, said that until now his party did not have data showing a surge in foreign tourist visits due to the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate.
"This means that the impact of the weakening of the rupiah on inbound tourism in Bantul has not been seen significantly, the weakening of the rupiah situation has also only occurred some time ago," said Saryadi in Yogyakarta, Sunday.
However, according to him, this condition can provide benefits for the tourism sector. Foreign tourists who exchange dollars for rupiah will get a higher exchange rate so that the cost of traveling while in Indonesia becomes more efficient.
"The operational costs for traveling to Indonesia become more efficient, so the opportunity is open," he said.
Not only has the potential to attract foreign tourists, the weakening of the rupiah is also expected to affect the travel patterns of Indonesian people. With the cost of traveling abroad tending to increase due to the higher dollar exchange rate, people can choose to vacation in domestic destinations.
"In theory, the weakening of the rupiah should be from within the country to trigger people to spend more money domestically, including wanting to travel abroad, which is also expensive, anyway," he said.
However, the contribution of foreign tourists to the Bantul tourism sector so far is still relatively small compared to domestic tourists.
"Foreigners who visit tourist destinations in Bantul in one year are around thousands," said Saryadi.
To increase the number of foreign tourist visits, the Bantul Tourism Office continues to strengthen promotion through various channels, including digital platforms and collaboration with tourism industry players.
According to Saryadi, social media is one of the effective means to introduce Bantul's tourist destinations to a wider market, including tourists from abroad.
"We also link promotional content with tourism accounts that have many followers, such as the Visiting Jogja account and other tourism accounts," he said.
In addition to digital promotions, Dinpar Bantul also collaborates with the Indonesian Travel and Tourism Company Association (ASITA) to expand the scope of promotions to the international market.
"We are working with ASITA, our promotional materials are entrusted to ASITA friends who have networks and reach for tourists abroad," said Saryadi.
Furthermore, he explained that foreign tourists, especially those from Europe, America, and Australia, generally seek a different travel experience from mass tourism. They tend to choose the concept of quality tourism which offers tranquility, closeness to nature, and interaction with local people.
"In Bantul, the trend is that they prefer natural destinations that are not crowded so that they can enjoy comfort calmly," he said.
Several areas that are quite popular with foreign tourists include Mangunan, Imogiri, to a number of tourist villages in the Pajangan and Kebon Agung areas. In addition to enjoying the beauty of nature, tourists are also interested in experiencing the local community's life directly.
"They enjoy everyday life by living with the community there," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
