Recession And Inflation Move Away! Many Residents Need Healing Make Tourism Increase

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government's move to ease mobility, especially after the Eid momentum, has made public spending even more solid amid rising inflation and COVID-19 cases as well as the threat of a recession.

PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk through the Mandiri Institute stated that the level of public spending in early July 2022 was at the level of 130.2. This figure is said to have grown 30 percent higher than the pre-pandemic period.

Head of the Mandiri Institute, Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, said that high vaccination rates, relaxation of mobility, and relatively good control of pandemic cases have encouraged the revival of the tourism sector.

"After Eid last May, spending in the main tourism areas, especially Bali and NTB, grew higher than other regions and this indicates the tourism sector is gradually recovering," he said in an official statement on Monday, July 18.

According to Teguh, compared to the previous two Ramadans, the level of spending in the main tourist areas increased significantly during Ramadan 2022. This condition of course has a positive impact on business actors related to the leisure sector.

"The growth in visits encourages hospitality activities (hotels, restaurants, and cafes) in tourism areas to grow compared to other areas," he said.

Teguh added, in general, spending related to tourism activities grew higher.

"Shopping related to mobility (transportation, travel, gasoline, hotels), lifestyle (department stores, fashion, entertainment, jewelry) and culinary activities (restaurants) has skyrocketed from the previous level," he asserted.

Furthermore, higher visitation rates encourage travel-related spending, airline tickets, hotels and restaurants compared to other regions. Compared to before Ramadan 2022, current hotel-related spending in tourism areas grew by 34 percent, higher than other areas which amounted to 24 percent," he said.

Teguh reminded, along with this momentum, continuous efforts are needed to strengthen the potential of other sectors in the main areas of tourism.

"In the future, strengthening the potential of households and business actors in key tourism areas, especially in the micro and small business segments, needs to be an important agenda for all stakeholders," he concluded.