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ASITA: DECLINING DOMESTIC AIRLINE TICKETS BOOST TOURISM IN ACEH

THE Indonesian Association of Indonesian Travel Companies (ASITA) assesses that a reduction in the price of low-cost airline tickets on domestic routes will stimulate tourism in Indonesia’s most Western province.

According to the Secretary of ASITA Aceh, Totok Julianto in Banda Aceh said (air ticket reduction) was part of the airline’s strategy. We just can’t see the impact now, but at the soonest in the next two months. The decline in the price of domestic route tickets is definitely revive various tourist destinations.

“Domestic tourists in the country will plan their trip since the long days, and it is usually adjusted to the time of school holiday. As is known, currently the price of low-cost airplane tickets for direct flights on domestic routes, such as Banda Aceh-Jakarta is Rp1 million per person, and Banda Aceh-Medan is Rp448 thousand per person, “he said.

He added, in the world of tourism, tourists do not have a plan. Another matter when compared with official travel or government agency business affairs. However, I claim, the decline in airline ticket prices by airlines along with entering the low season or low season due to the minimal number of passengers on each flight.

“At this time for the next few months, it is indeed low season. Maybe economically, the market requires that plane ticket prices go down. What is clear, if domestic airline tickets go down, it will make people happy to travel. We as tourism stakeholders, surely later business is good again,” Toto said.

While the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Wishnutama at the end of 2019 admitted, the Ministry of Tourism continued to coordinate with the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya and the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir to study the problem and find a solution.

“I am together with the Minister of Transportation, the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises to ‘review’ all possibilities to reduce ticket prices. One of the main factors is ticket prices. There is also a report on Angkasa Pura (AP) II about the problem of decreasing occupancy,” he concluded.

However, Wishnutama said that the effort to reduce the price of airplane tickets was not an easy matter. Because the problem of high plane ticket prices is very complex because it is influenced by many factors.

“It is not a simple job because it is complex, various, there is an influence on the price of aviation fuel, leasing and so on. So we have to look comprehensively how to reduce ticket prices to be comprehensive,” Minister Wishnutama added. [antaranews/special photo]