With the Australian border reopened, Indonesian hospitality industry players hope to return with vigor.

The Australian government has announced that they are reopening their borders to fully vaccinated tourists starting  Feb. 21. This news has been greeted positively by many Indonesian-run businesses in the country, as well as Indonesians working in businesses there. 

Throughout the pandemic, many had to take on second jobs to survive. 

The tourism sector in Australia has plunged since the start of the pandemic. From January to March 2021, employment in the tourism industry fell by 5.1 percent to 662,700 workers, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported.

Due to the absence of international visitors, hotels in the Victorian region lost AU$1.7 billion (US$1.23 billion) revenue in March 2021 due to the low hotel occupancy rate. In Sydney,  hotel occupancy reached only 2 percent due to the lockdown in July 2021. 

Hopeful

Chief among those in the hospitality sector are Indonesians who own or work in restaurants as well as homestay owners, both within the central business districts and in rural areas.  

Nuribena Harefa, the owner of cottage-style accommodation called Eastern Reef Cottage, located in Port Campbell, Victoria, was overjoyed by the announcement of the reopening of the border.  

“Eastern Reef Cottage is run by myself and my family, but because of the pandemic and having fewer guests, I had to work as a cleaner at Sea Foam Villas. My second son also works as a receptionist at the same place as me, while my first son works at a local restaurant called 12 Rocks restaurant,” she continued. Nuribena continued to explain that during the pandemic, most of her guests were just the locals who happened to be working at Port Campbell. However, it has been difficult for her and her family to get by relying solely on local tourists. Fortunately, Nuribena received financial help from the Australian government as well as family members. 

Nuribena has been running her cottage business for over six years. Prior to the pandemic, her homestay could accommodate 200 guests monthly.

“Before the pandemic happened, 100 percent of my clients were Chinese tourists. For certain events like Chinese New Year, they would stay at my homestay for 15 days,” Nuribena said. 

Welcome back!: Intan Kieflie has been eyeing to welcome international tourists to Melbourne that are looking for more halal food options. (Courtesy of Intan Kieflie) (Personal Collection_Courtesy of Intan Kieflie) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Intan Kieflie)

Intan Kieflie shares Nuribena’s excitement. She owns a Padang food restaurant called Dale la Pau in Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne, as well as a homestay near her home in the area. Homestays are usually rented out for a short timeframe to parents of foreign students who have started their studies there. 

Intan said that the reopening announcement resulted in the immediate revival of her business, with her homestay being fully booked up until mid-2022.

“Many international students’ parents are planning to come to Melbourne and they have booked the homestay. I think they are planning to stay at my place because we’re near Victoria University, and the city.” Intan added that she couldn’t wait to welcome international visitors to her beloved restaurant. 

“Since we’re offering halal food, we regularly cater to clients from Indonesia or Malaysia. Usually, visitors get information about halal restaurants around Victoria and virtually anywhere else from the tour agency. But we also welcome tourists from other parts of the world, because everyone loves Padang food, right?" she said.

Happy guides

It is not just restaurant and homestay owners who are relieved about the reopening of the border. It is also local tour guides who are excited to bring international visitors to see the beauty of Australia’s scenery. 

“I have missed meeting fellow Indonesians and talking about various things while touring around Australia's scenery,” Edu Hambali who works as a tour guide shared. Working for GPS Travel, Edu explained that tourists would come to Australia during major events like the MotoGP and Formula One. The Idul Fitri and Christmas breaks are also peak times. 

Tour around: Edu (center), a tour guide from Indonesia looks forward to taking international tourists to explore the scenic Australian landscapes, such as Great Ocean Road in Victoria or take a look around Australian vineyard. (Courtesy of Edu Hamb) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Edu Hamb)

Edu has been waiting for the border to reopen so that he can go back to his old job and welcome international tourists. Having no source of income in the tourism sector during the pandemic, Edu has been working part-time in a center for COVID-19 in Victoria. 

“I’ve tried everything during the pandemic. I’ve worked as a courier, food delivery and mid-2021, I worked at the Department of Health to help them fight against the Delta and Omicron outbreak,” Edu, who has lived in Melbourne for the last 26 years, said. He said that 90 percent of his clients were Indonesians. Edu recalls that back in 2017, he guided 224 people on tour around Australia. 

As a representative of the Indonesian government in Melbourne, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) has shown its support by using services or buying products from Indonesian businesses. They shared that in the upcoming months there would be several events that could be visited by tourists from Indonesia. 

Said Nuribena, “I really hope that everything can go back to normal, and there will be international visitors who will stay at my cottages. I hope that the reopening of the border can help me recover the business faster so that I don’t have to work a second job.”