ER
INDONESIAN government will issue a stimulus for tourism in the third quarter of 2020 if there has been an economic movement.
According to the Head of the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF), Febrio Nathan Kacaribu said the third quarter was impatient to walk because it was bored at home, so we will prepare a stimulus for tourism, restaurants, transportation. Hopefully more in Quarter IV-2020.
Febrio said the stimulus was the government’s effort to expand consumption for the upper middle class, which consisted of discounted airplane tickets to tourist destinations and hotel or restaurant tax incentives.
“That was done to encourage consumption because this year it is clear that in the first quarter of 2020 alone it has been depressed enough in its consumption,” said Febrio.
Febrio said the depressed tourism sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the growth in consumption in the first quarter of 2020 which was only able to reach 2.8 percent and is expected to decrease further in the second quarter of 2020.
“The toughest economy in the Second Quarter, tourism stopped, trade fell sharply, and manufacturing was disrupted, so we have to get ready. We hope that the consumption stimulus will start for the middle class, namely tourism, restaurants and transportation,” he explained.
He stated that the stimulus for tourism is expected to increase the consumption of layers of society in deciles four and five because for deciles one to three the government has sought through social assistance (social assistance).
“So it’s no longer in deciles one, two, and three because there have been quite a lot allocated there totaling IDR65 trillion. This is being considered how to expand consumption stimulus to the middle class,” he said.
Febrio continued the government’s plan to provide tourism stimulus is also an effort so that Indonesia’s economic growth is not depressed deeper than 2.97 percent in the first quarter of 2020.
“The hope is that our economy will be depressed, but it is a way to reduce the pressure as much as possible,” he concluded. [antaranews/photo special]
