Hotel Entrepreneurs Welcome the Proposal of Pinched Day as a National Holiday

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) DKI Jakarta welcome the proposal of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, to change the pinch day to a national holiday.

Jakarta PHRI BPD Chairman, Sutrisno Iwantono, said the proposal could boost national tourism. This pinch day can be used by domestic tourists to stay overnight or just staycation.

"I think we are very welcome that there is a Menparekraf proposal like that", he said in a virtual press conference written on Wednesday, January 18.

Furthermore, Sutrisno said that if the proposal is realized it will encourage an increase in the income of hoteliers.

"Jakarta is when you have a holiday you can leave the city. But local people can also come to Jakarta, so they can fill hotels in Jakarta", he said.

As previously reported, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, said the national pinch day or Harpitnas was a discourse proposed by his party to achieve the target of 1.4 billion domestic tourist trips (wisnus) in 2023.

Even though this proposal has pros and cons, Sandiaga said that his party is optimistic that having a day off on cramped days can increase productivity and make the mind fresher.

"It has been proven through studies that after the long weekend, (the public) are fresh again and their productivity is higher, there is already a reference from their knowledge", he said in The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno in Jakarta, Monday, January 16.

As for the optimization of the pinched holidays, said Sandiaga, his party had submitted it to the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform of the Republic of Indonesia.

Harpitnas, said Sandiaga, is expected to be an additional long holiday that will contribute to the movement of tourists, namely tours during Idul Fitri, Christmas, and New Year, as well as school holidays.

"I suggest there are one or two (things) to be worked out so that there is an additional long holiday which has been a contributor to the movement of domestic tourists", he concluded.