"Shouts" Of Travel Agent Business Actors Who Have Lost IDR 4 Trillion In February

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The government issued stimulus packages I and II in dealing with the economic impact of COVID-19. For the tourism industry, the government imposes subsidies on airplane tickets.

In addition, there is a ministerial decree outside the fiscal package that deals with the addition of holidays, which is expected to boost revenue in the tourism sector. However, according to business operators, this does not merely have a significant impact on their income curve.

Subsidies on airplane tickets are considered to be inversely proportional to the decline in public interest in traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entrepreneurs in the tourism sector admit that they are pessimistic, and think that there are still other solutions that can be applied in the tourism sector.

"There have not been any concrete steps from the government to help travel agents. Our losses during February reached Rp. 4 trillion. The decline in ticket sales and cancellations has reached 90 percent, and it is predicted that this will increase as the affected areas develop, and the recommendations for lockdown / stay at home," he said. Pauline Suharno, chairman of the Indonesian Travel Agents Association (ASTINDO) told VOI, Saturday, March 14.

In addition, Pauline added, tax relaxation is expected to be reviewed for entrepreneurs in the tourism sector if they do not want this sector to go out of business. It is hoped that the relaxation of PPH 21, PPH 25, advertisement tax, and review of layoff regulations in force majeure are expected to be reconsidered.

"In stimulus packages I and II, tax relaxation is only for certain sectors, and our members are not included in stimulus packages I and II. Throughout March, several employees have started to be laid off and if there is no improvement we will be forced to lay off in April, "added Pauline.

Businessmen in Bali, as the province with the largest foreign exchange contribution to tourism in Indonesia (40 percent of the national tourism foreign exchange in 2019, reported from swa.co.id) also admit to being pessimistic about the disbursement of funds that are still far below other affected countries.

Fiscal stimulus funds for countries affected by COVID-19

The Head of the Hipmi Bali Trade, Industry & BUMN Sector Agung Bagus Pratiksa Linggih said that the current condition of Bali was quite apprehensive because of the quiet stretch of tourism in the area.

"In Bali it is quiet, if by the end of the year we can all fold because of this policy. The government should be able to move quickly to calm the tourism industry first, or at least this stimulus is given to the pharmaceutical industry to boost sanitation and health needs so that people can rest easy. , instead of subsidizing airline tickets or giving funds to influencers, "added Agung.

Indonesia's actions in dealing with COVID-19 are indeed different from other countries. In January, for example, the government had not yet implemented a ban on arrivals from countries affected by COVID-19.

Health monitoring of arrivals from infected countries is carried out through thermal scans and Health Alert Cards. The discovery of the first positive case of COVID-19 came after patient 01 received news of a colleague who was positive for COVID-19 in Malaysia.