UNS — Indonesian tourism sector took a hard hit in the last 9 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the first case was detected in Indonesia in March 2020, the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia continues to increase until its current 713,000 cases.
This pandemic has caused many tourism destinations, hotels, airports, ports, railway stations, shopping centers, entertainment venues, and culinary spots to be closed to prevent the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus. As reported by tirto.id, the Chairman of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (Perhimpunan Hotel dan Restoran Indonesia – PHRI), Hariyadi Sukamdani claimed that the loss caused by the large-scale social restriction (PSBB) during the Covid-19 pandemic reached IDR 85.3 trillion.
The question that appearing at the end of 2020 is will this sector recover in 2021, or will it still experience sluggishness in the new year of 2021? The tourism expert of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Dr. Deria Adi Wijaya, answered the big question by projecting that in 2021 Indonesian tourism will recover from the hit. He stated that the tourism industry would sustain with the adaptation of new habits in all aspects of life. To achieve this condition, all visitors who want to visit a tourism destination are required to implement Health Protocols (Prokes) and have a letter that states that they are tested negative from Covid-19.
“It needs a new adaptation. Keep wearing masks, keep physical distance, wash hands, and the government’s new policy, which requires visitors to show a non-reactive letter from rapid test or PCR. This policy will help people to get accustomed to the new adaptation,” Dr. Deria explained to uns.ac.id, Monday (28/12/2020).
Dr. Deria is optimistic that the tourism industry will recover following the mass vaccination. He mentioned that the community is tired of waiting, working from home, maintain physical distance, and controlled movement in the last 9 months. If vaccination is a success, he is optimistic that the pandemic will over, and tourism will boom again. The tourism sector has considerable potential to capture the opportunity that arises from people who are tired of the wait.
Regarding the prospect of visitation in the 5 super-priority destinations, Dr. Deria, who is also the Head of Diploma Program (D-3) in Tourism Business (UPW) Vocational School (SV) UNS, mentioned that Borobudur Temple would become the most visited destination. This temple has become a great magnet attracting visitors from other countries to visit one of the World’s Wonders. Besides Borobudur Temple, Dr. Deria added that Toba Lake, Mandalika, and Labuan Bajo also have a good prospect of tourism visitation in 2021. Mandalika, for example, is scheduled to become a place to held the first MotoGP in Indonesia since 1997. This opportunity has better probability since Mayor Brno Marketa decided that MotoGP Ceko will leave the MotoGP calendar in 2021.
“Mandalika also becomes a great magnet because it will become a MotoGP circuit which is at the global level. With this circuit, more visitors will allocate their time and potential to visit Mandalika,” he explained.
However, despite a good prospect in 2021, Dr. Deria reminded that the government needs to be careful with the threat of Supercovid. He hopes that the government will tighten the access to all tourism gate in Indonesia from foreign visitors by installing more thermal cameras in airports, ports, terminals, and railway stations. Including tightening screening for visitors and requiring swab test and rapid antigen test for all visitors.
Sandiaga Uno as the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy
In discussion with uns.ac.id, Dr. Deria also responding to Sandiaga Uno’s appointment as the new Minister of Tourism and Creative Economic (Menparekraf) replacing Wishnutama. He stated that Sandiaga Uno’s position would bring new hope for Indonesian tourism, which slumped because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Deria sees an opportunity for MSME to develop under the leadership of Sandiaga Uno.
The MSME projected to develop in 2021 is the business in souvenirs. He stated that to develop MSME in the tourism sector needs support from a good collaboration among various parties. Dr. Deria mentioned that Sandiaga Uno has a strategy to move the tourism sector in Indonesia through a partnership from multiple sectors, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Ministry of Trade, and other ministries. “These parties need to synchronize their perception and bring progress,” Dr. Deria stated.
Dr. Deria also reminded that Kemenparekraf, under the new minister, needs to rebuild visitors’ trust in Indonesian tourism through CHSE or Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment. He hopes that the destination manager provides insolation space and good medical facilities to support the new normal adaptation in the tourism sector.
“For example, with the increase of visitation in Bali. Bali’s priority steps are by increasing tourist’s trust when visiting Bali that Bali is safe and ready to be visited and applying CHSE. I hope CHSE is not only applied in Bali but also all tourism destinations in Indonesia. I hope CHSE becomes the priority development for destinations now,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti