Earns IDR 2 Billion From The Tourism Sector During Eid, Bukittinggi City Government: Alhamdulillah, Crowded With Visitors

Illustration of a tourist attraction in Bukittinggi (Photo via Antara/Alfatah)

JAKARTA - The Bukittinggi City Government, West Sumatra, revealed that a number of tourist attractions in their area were crowded with visitors during the Eid holiday. Until D + 5 Lebaran, there have been 90 thousand tourists who visited several tourist attractions in Bukittinggi.

Head of the Tourism, Youth and Sports (Disparpora) Bukittinggi City, Hendry said, Regional Original Income reached Rp. 2 billion from entry ticket income.

"It was recorded that until the fifth day of Eid, more than 90,000 visitors entered existing tourist destinations with a total PAD income of Rp. 2 billion," said Hendry, as quoted by Antara, Saturday, May 7.

According to him, visits to tourist attractions in Bukittinggi have increased from the previous year because the last two years there have been restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Alhamdulillah, this year's Bukittinggi tourist attraction, namely the Kinantan Cultural Wildlife Park (TMSBK) zoo, Fort de Kock Fort and Panorama Park and Japanese Hole, were full of visitors," he said.

Based on data on admission tickets sold on the D day or the first day of Eid, the number of new tourist attraction visits has reached 4,000 visitors. But entering the second day soared to reach 16,000 visitors.

"Next on Wednesday, May 4, there were 25,000 visitors and on Thursday it had reached 28,000 visitors, the last 24,000 people yesterday," he said.

Hendry said that the increase in visitors had an effect on the amount of PAD in Bukittinggi City, which continued to rise, along with the increase in tourist visits to paid tourist attractions.

"On the first day of Eid, income reached Rp. 80 million, on the second day of Rp. 360 million, on the third day of Eid of Rp. 550 million and on Thursday of Rp. 600 million, yesterday's latest data was around Rp. 521 million, meaning that from day D to D + 3 PAD tourism reached around Rp. 2 billion," said Hendry.

He estimates that tourist visits and PAD from tourist attractions will peak this weekend.

"We predict that the peak number of visits will occur on Saturday and Sunday. With the increasing number of visitors, we have implemented several internal policies, such as in the aviary, if it is crowded, we will open and close temporarily and can enter alternately," he said.

Although tourist visits are busy again in Bukittinggi, officers continue to apply health protocols. Visitors are not allowed to enter the attraction without wearing a mask.