The Government Asks Airlines To Give Discount Flights To Bali, North Sulawesi And Bintan

Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko holds a meeting related to the corona virus problem (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - The spread of the corona virus in various countries has actually decreased the number of tourists in Indonesia. As a result, the government is now providing discounted flight ticket prices for those who wish to travel to the areas of Bali, North Sulawesi and Bintan.

This was conveyed by the Chief of Presidential Staff (KSP) Moeldoko after holding a meeting on the corona virus issue with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Communication and Information, Ministry of Social Affairs, BNPB, and BIN and others.

"The government is taking steps from the Ministry of Transportation, for domestic flights to provide special discounts for destinations to Bali, North Sulawesi and Bintan. ... Because the three tourist areas have relatively decreased," Moeldoko told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting held at the building. Bina Graha, Presidential Palace Complex, Central Jakarta, Thursday, February 6.

On the same occasion, Special Staff of the Minister of Transportation, Adita Irawati, said that this discount had been discussed with the airlines. However, the amount of the discount will be adjusted to the policies of each airline.

"The Ministry of Transportation gives instructions that the airlines will do it separately," said Adita, adding that the Ministry of Transportation hopes that the airlines will impose this price discount for one month or 30 days.

This discount is given so that tourism continues to move despite the cancellation of flights to and from China. "We try to keep it attractive with various packages from airlines," said Aditia.

A number of ministers meeting with the Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko to discuss the corona virus problem (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Wishnutama Kusbandio argued that this discount would not be too influential to increase income from the tourism sector, especially those from China. This is because the problem with the corona outbreak, which is the reason travelers do not want to come, cannot be predicted with certainty.

"Unless we know what date the corona virus outbreak will be over, it might make it easier for us to predict the potential loss," Wishnutama said.

What's more, so far, Chinese tourists who come to Indonesia have reached more than two million visitors each year with a total one-time expenditure of up to 1,400 US dollars.

"This means that in foreign exchange (income) of 2.8 million US dollars. That is a direct impact of Chinese tourists. ... So if we talk about our annual average, the total potential loss could be around 4 million US dollars, including from outside China," he stressed. he.

The government states that those who hold national passports or those who have recently traveled in mainland China are prohibited from entering Indonesian territory. This prohibition was carried out to prevent the spread of the corona virus in the archipelago.

Not only that, the government has also stopped the visa-free and visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese citizens. However, it is not yet known how long this policy will run.

Then, a number of direct flights to and from China were also temporarily suspended due to the spread of the virus since Wednesday, February 5 yesterday.