Concerts Have A Big Influence On Tourism, Government Will Give Permits Ease

JAKARTA - The decline in COVID-19 cases seems to be a momentum for the return of travel and human activities which had been on hold during the pandemic for nearly 3 years.

One of the businesses that are certain to start to bounce back due to the easing is the entertainment industry, especially music as well as arts and culture, which had fallen into disrepair due to the pandemic.

Indonesia is also listed as a destination for foreign artists who want to meet fans or simply meet up with nostalgia and nostalgia by holding concerts.

In the near future, it is confirmed that the Hammersonic Festival will be held on March 18-19 at the Ancol Carnaval, Jakarta after being postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The largest rock music festival in the Southeast Asian region, which will feature prominent bands such as Slipknot, Trivium, and Watain, should be held in 2020.

Previously, other foreign music groups ranging from the legendary rock band Deep Purple, boy band Westlife, indie folk-pop band King of Convenience, and most recently the idol group Blackpink recently performed in Indonesia.

Not only that, but domestic artists also took advantage of this momentum, such as the legendary band Dewa 19, Sheila on 7, and soloist Raisa who had attracted tens of thousands of fans some time ago.

Music concerts seem to be a new lifestyle that is inseparable from today's society. The desire to meet idols has become a new hobby and a way to escape from the daily routine.

Uniquely, almost all of the concerts sold well. Even pre-sale tickets for these bands can be easily ordered online in a matter of minutes.

This phenomenon further confirms the theory that so far the Indonesian economy has been saved by the consumptive behavior of its people. As long as you can shop, then economic resilience can continue.

Even though there are several concerts whose tickets are actually quite expensive for even the middle class, such as Blackpink concert tickets which range from IDR 1.35 million to IDR 3.8 million, while tickets for the Hammersonic festival for two days including tax reach IDR 2.65 million.

Ease of permission

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno believes that music concerts that bring in musicians from abroad, as well as local artists, will have a big influence on tourism in Indonesia.

Launching Antara, according to Sandiaga, the market for music concerts in Indonesia is growing and the middle class continues to grow, making Indonesia an attractive place for big concerts and helping the movement of foreign tourists and domestic tourists.

Several important sporting events such as the U20 World Cup and MotoGP, including music activities that invite foreign artists, are also projected to be ready to invite thousands of guests from abroad this year. The impact can also create jobs including a multiplier effect on other sectors.

The growth of the middle class is the key word because it is an opportunity that must be taken advantage of, considering that activity restrictions have been abolished. It seems that financial problems are not a big obstacle because people tend to get tired of doing limited activities.

Therefore, the government plans to provide easy licensing for all activities in the creative economy sector, such as music, film, cultural arts, and sports.

The economic condition which is expected to improve is the trigger for the birth of this policy. Ease is expected to strengthen the domestic situation which is currently conducive so that it can become a reinforcing medicine from global economic conditions in 2023 which are said to have yet to recover.

With this policy being formulated, there will be standardized and digitized event licensing to facilitate more than 30,000 medium-large scale events that have the potential to create an economic movement of around IDR 170 trillion in 2023.

The government is targeting that these permits can be obtained by organizers of major international level events at least 6 months before the event for principal permits and 3 months in advance for technical permits.

Meanwhile, the final permit is issued no later than 45 days before the event. The 45-day policy is a meeting point that was produced, based on various inputs from various event organizers. One of the reasons is that there is a time lag for ticket sales.

This licensing level will also be integrated from the center to the regions and across ministries/agencies, including the National Police.

The government hopes that through this regulation a conducive and inclusive licensing system will be created so that event organizers, especially international-scale activities, can have licensing certainty starting with principal permits.