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THE tourism industry in Indonesia is predicted to expand in 2022 which is driven by domestic tourists, but it still takes time if you expect from foreign tourists.
According to the Head of the Institute for Social and Political Research and Development (LPPSP) FISIP, University of Indonesia and tourism observer Jajang Gunawijaya, he said that if the government had declared the pandemic could be controlled, there would be significant easing so that various economic activities could be reopened, tourism would be stretched.
Jajang Gunawijaya predicts that domestic tourists will be the focus in helping the industry to return to normal. People’s desire to travel to various regions in the country will be realized when conditions are declared safe for traveling later. This will help tourist destinations in Indonesia bounce back.
“For foreign tourists, it will take even longer. It can take 1-2 years to return to normal because the impact of a prolonged pandemic has damaged the economic structure of people abroad, including from countries that travel a lot to Indonesia,” he explained.
To look forward, he continued that to the return of foreign tourists, the process is more time-consuming because the economies of other countries have also not fully recovered. In fact, foreign tourists who want to vacation abroad must prepare their finances ahead of time before traveling. In contrast to domestic tourists who are more flexible to vacation in the country whenever they want as long as there is a chance.
In the midst of uncertain conditions, preparations for the holidays have also been delayed. People also can’t predict when the pandemic will end or can be fully controlled, so financial preparations for vacations haven’t been done either.
“So, if in 2022 the pandemic can be controlled, it is not necessarily foreign tourists entering Indonesia because they need to save first, then the economy of the country concerned is not yet normal,” he said.
Another factor that is no less important is to restore the confidence of foreign tourists in Indonesia’s efforts to control COVID-19 which affects the environmental conditions they will visit. Normal conditions in which foreign tourists come to Indonesia as before are expected to happen in the next two years.
Meanwhile Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno said tourism trends during the COVID-19 pandemic changed by prioritizing tourism that was safe from the spread of the virus and more personal. The community is predicted to like tourism that can be specifically tailored to their needs, more towards local wisdom (localize), tours that are carried out together with family (personalized), and carried out not in droves or in smaller quantities (smaller size).
Special interest tourism, such as mountain climbing, white water rafting, and ecotourism always have loyal fans who are ready to “take action” once the government gives the green light to return to their activities, said Jajang. People’s expectations for traveling are believed to be very high, what remains is patience to wait for safe conditions to travel. [antaranews/photo special]
