Stagnating Tourism Sector Recovery, PHRI: Middle Class Still Afraid Of Shopping

Borobudur Temple illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the BPD Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI), Sutrisno Iwantono, said that the process of economic recovery in the tourism sector is still very difficult or stagnant. This is because the middle class chooses to save their money instead of spending it for shopping.

Sutrisno said, this condition was reflected in the third party funds (DPK) in the banking sector that reached Rp1,000 trillion. This means that the middle class, until now, have not felt safe spending their money. Concerns of being exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic while carrying out consumption activities such as traveling are the main factors.

"The current problem is that the level of demand is low. The middle to high society is still holding back spending. Based on Bank Indonesia's data, there are more than 1,000 trillion DPK in the bank," he said, in a virtual talk show by BNPB Indonesia entitled 'Strategy for Tourism Awakening in the Middle of a Pandemic', Friday , January 29.

Sutrisno said the level of demand in the tourism sector could be developed. However, the condition is that the upper middle sector must be willing to spend its money.

Therefore, he said, creating confidence in the community by business actors is the most important thing to restore the tourism sector from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As is known, the government has prepared a policy for CHSE (Clean, Health, Safety, and Environment) certification or Hygiene, Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability in the tourism sector.

However, said Sutrisno, it was not enough just to do it by the government. Because of that, he asked business actors in the tourism industry to be more incessant in carrying out promotions that emphasized that their place was implementing strict health protocols.

"CHSE is one of the ways the government does, but not only that, business actors must also ensure that the place is safe so that people dare to come there," he said.