Prohibition of Lebaran Homecoming Predicted to Hit the Tourism Sector Back
Prohibition, The government has announced a ban on Eid homecoming this year, both for civil servants and the general public in order to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. The ban, which takes effect from 6 to 17 May 2021, is predicted to have an impact on the transportation and tourism sectors.
“The impact of the homecoming ban is likely to focus on the transportation and tourism industry, which until the first quarter of 2021 is still much lower than other sectors,” said Pingkan Audrine Kosijungan, Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) researcher, Saturday, March 27, 2021.
During the time of the pandemic, both sectors have been badly hit. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that the transportation and warehousing sectors contributed the most to the 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decline, which was minus 0.64 percent with a growth rate of minus 15.04 percent. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also recorded a decrease in foreign and foreign exchange tourist arrivals in 2020 with only 4 million visits and foreign exchange of around US $ 3.54 million.
Until early 2021, the two sectors have not improved. This is because the government is still implementing a policy of restricting activities and prohibiting entry for foreign tourists.
Regarding the Eid homecoming ban, Pingkan advised the government to be more consistent in implementing it. According to him, this is important so that the affected industries can prepare a survival strategy. “Mainly related to policy consistency and also communication to the public regarding these policies must be clearer,” he said.
