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FINANCE Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government was formulating incentives for tourism industry players, such as hotels or airlines, to counter the negative impact of the Corona virus spreading on the domestic economy.
“Some things such as subsidies to airlines, especially domestic tourism in order to increase spending from the public to support the tourism sector,” Sri Mulyani said after a plenary cabinet meeting at the Bogor Palace, West Java (11/2).
Sri Mulyani mentioned that the incentive was still being reviewed by her party, the Ministry of Transportation, and also the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. The incentive was as a request from President Joko Widodo.
While the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said there were three tourism destinations in Indonesia that were highly affected by the Corona virus outbreak. The three destinations are Bali, Bintan and North Sulawesi. The three destinations were affected because the government closed flights to and from mainland China since February 5, 2020. Yet every year, as many as two million Chinese tourists visit Indonesia.
Budi Karya hopes that the incentives can directly impact ticket prices at hotels and airlines, such as vouchers or discounted airline tickets.
“The most effective is bundling (packages) such as to airlines and hotels. China’s economic partner countries are now beginning to anticipate the impact of the widespread corona virus outbreak,” Budi said.
Likewise with the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wishnutama Kusubandio previously said Indonesia could potentially lose foreign exchange of US$4 billion if Chinese flight routes are closed for a year.
“The value is obtained from the number of tourists from China which reaches two million people in a year. The total loss is also added to the impact of the delay of other countries tourists to Indonesia for fear of contracting the Corona virus,” Wishnutama concluded. [antaranews]
