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Indonesia prioritizes health, safety to revive tourism
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Visitors look at a performance by divers in Santa Claus costumes at the Jakarta Aquarium at Neo Soho Mall, in Grogol, West Jakarta, on Dec. 22. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he government has vowed to prioritize health and safety in its efforts to revive the pandemic-battered tourism industry while highlighting new types of attraction that may offer promising business opportunities.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno pledged on Tuesday to prioritize COVID-19 containment measures while still pursuing industry recovery next year.
“The year 2021 is the moment to start recovering, but we must be disciplined,” Sandiaga stressed during a live-broadcasted press conference at the Hutan Kota by Plataran restaurant in Central Jakarta. “When traveling, we should not compromise on health and must continue to comply with health protocols.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit tourism hard as movement restrictions enforced in countries around the world have discouraged people from traveling. It is expected to continue plaguing Indonesia’s tourism industry next year despite hopes pinned on the rollout of vaccines.
Read also: Foreign tourist arrivals, hotel occupancy rate yet to recover in October: BPS
Foreign tourist arrivals rose to 158,200 in October, an increase of 4.57 percent from September, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows. However, the figure was still down 88.25 percent from the same month last year.
The ministry has drastically slashed its foreign tourist arrivals target for this year from 18 million travelers to between 2.8 million and 4 million, less than a quarter of the initial target.
