Travel businesses have low expectations for this year’s Christmas and New Year season as weak spending power and people’s concern over an impending tax hike may put the brakes on any extra trips.
ravel businesses have low expectations for this year’s Christmas and New Year season, arguing that weak public spending power and people’s concern over an impending tax hike may put the brakes on any extra trips or extended stays.
Indonesian Tour and Travel Agency Association (ASITA) secretary general Budijanto Ardiansjah told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the level of activity in the industry was still below what it had been before the coronavirus pandemic, leaving little ground for optimism for the current year-end period.
“The estimate for [the Christmas and New Year tourism performance] is that there will be just a slight uptick compared to last year. There is even a chance of it being weaker or just at a similar level,” said Budijanto.
Asked about the reasons for the downbeat assessment, Budijanto said people were afflicted with diminished spending power, as reflected in private consumption that had seen feeble growth and accounted for a declining proportion of Indonesia’s gross domestic product.
In addition, Budijanto said, high airfares and the fact that 2024 was a year of political change had not helped the tourist industry either.
Indonesia is known for relatively expensive domestic airline tickets, particularly during peak holiday seasons.
The government sought to address the issue some weeks ago as it vowed to push down airfares during the Christmas and New Year period by 10 percent to stimulate year-end tourism.
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