She sells snacks and soft drinks to tourists at the famous Prambanan temple in Central Java. The numbers of both domestic and foreign tourists visiting Prambanan have come down drastically since late March as a result of COVID-19.

“My main income comes from selling drinks and snacks. Now I am out of business and I do not know what to do. I sold my gold ornaments to survive so far,” Suhartini, 38, from Jetis village, Klaten regency, Central Java, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Suhartini is not alone. Thousands of people who depend on tourism in rural areas in Indonesia have lost their income this year. Their peers in urban areas have also suffered the same fate.

In an effort to focus on rural communities and tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) picked the theme “Tourism and Rural Development” for the celebration of World Tourism Day (WTD) in 2020.

For the first time in 40 years, the world tourism industry, including in Indonesia, celebrated this year’s WTD on Sept. 27 on a low scale and with sorrow because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Usually, a member country of the UNWTO hosts the main WTD event every year. Unusually, for the first time, all MERCOSUR countries were joint hosts for this year’s WTD celebrations. The MERCOSUR members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.

Tourism, a leading employer and an economic pillar in rural areas, is a major provider of employment opportunities for women and youth.

“For rural communities, indigenous peoples and many other historically marginalized populations, tourism has been a vehicle for integration, empowerment and generating income,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said recently in a Policy Brief on tourism.

Echoing a similar view, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has said that rural communities play a key role in preserving cultural heritage and traditions.

“All around the world, tourism empowers rural communities, providing jobs and opportunity, most notably for women and youth. Tourism also enables rural communities to hold onto their unique cultural heritage and traditions, and the sector is vital for safeguarding habitat and endangered species,” said Pololikashvili, a Georgian national, in his WTD message.

“This World Tourism Day is a chance to recognize the role tourism plays outside of major cities and its ability to build a better future for all.”

Tourism is also a lifeline for millions of people directly or indirectly.

"Our [tourism] sector gives them the chance to make a living. To earn not just a wage, but also dignity and equality. Tourism jobs also empower people and provide a chance to have a stake in their own societies – often for the first time," Pololikashvili said.

Last year, according to the UNWTO, 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in the entire world. In 2019, Indonesia welcomed 16.11 million international tourists, missing the target of 20 million foreign tourists.

Many people do not believe how much money the global tourism industry generates. Every day, according to the UNWTO, the global tourism industry generates US$5 billion, or $1.72 trillion per year, providing millions of jobs.  

With its 1.44 billion people and $14.4 trillion GDP (2019), China is undoubtedly a major source of world tourism.

According to the UNWTO, 166 million Chinese people travelled to 158 countries in 2019, contributing to the global tourism industry in a big way.

Chinese tourists, according to the China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, spent $127.5 billion in 2019 while traveling abroad.

The year 2020 is a black year for the global tourism industry.

According to the UNWTO, there was a decline of 65 percent in international tourist arrivals during the first half of 2020. The global tourism industry suffered a loss of 440 million international visits and a record $460 billion in revenue.

The Indonesian government must strongly support and promote the tourism industry in rural areas. It is in line with this year’s World Tourism Day theme.

By providing more opportunities and jobs to rural communities, especially women and youth, in the tourism industry, the government can easily achieve its sustainable development goals (SDGs) and ease the burden on urban areas. If they have opportunities at home, rural people will think twice about migrating to urban areas.

The government and all tourism industry stakeholders must design a grand strategy for the recovery of tourism, which is expected to happen in the second half of 2021 if a COVID-19 vaccine is developed.

Some countries are already planning to open their tourism industry. For example, Thailand is opening its tourism industry this month for long stay visitors with strict health protocols. Tourism is a major industry in Thailand, which contributes, both directly and indirectly, around 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Last year, 40 million foreign tourists visited Thailand and spent $60 billion there.

Indonesia must follow suit with utmost caution. We can open up our tourism industry gradually to selected countries.

“Indonesia must undertake a massive global campaign to promote its tourism. The government must give incentives, in the shape of waiving taxes, soft loans and subsidies, to all stakeholders for at least three years,” Rudianto, who works at a five-star hotel in Central Jakarta, told the Post.

It is not just the government, but all stakeholders must work together for the recovery of our tourism industry.

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