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INDONESIA’S Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy budget cuts were not aimed at restraining tourism development amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was conveyed by Sri Mulyani at the 2021 National Coordination Meeting for Tourism and Creative Economy, which was held by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy on Monday (9/27). As is known, the Ministry of Tourism’s budget has been cut by 40% this year.
Sri Mulyani explained that there has been a reallocation of the state budget (APBN) since last year. The change in the direction of the use of the state budget occurred because the COVID-19 pandemic occurred globally, so that it had an impact on health and the economy.
Tourism-related budgets, including those allocated to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, are also affected. In 2020, the government determined that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s budget was IDR3.26 trillion, a decrease of almost 40% from the initial budget ceiling of IDR5.36 trillion.
According to Sri Mulyani, the budget reduction was carried out because the APBN was focused on the needs of handling the pandemic and recovering the national economy.
“I hope tourism friends see from a policy perspective to restore tourism, this sector is facing a tremendous impact, but maybe we need to make new thoughts because of the situation, namely the decline in the number of tourists for different reasons,” said Sri Mulyani.
She explained that previously, the decline in the number of tourists was often caused by specific issues that hit Indonesia, such as the Bali bombings or natural disasters. However, currently the COVID-19 pandemic is an international issue, so the decline in the number of tourists to Indonesia is influenced by global conditions. Reflecting on this condition, the government has also mobilized the maximum possible budget for handling the pandemic.
Sri Mulyani also considered that Indonesia’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19 would bring tourism activities back to life, so handling the pandemic needs to be a priority. Because without handling the pandemic, no activities can run normally.
“The budget ceiling of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2021 is recorded to increase compared to last year, which is IDR4.9 trillion. However, again there is a reduction in the budget ceiling by 22.7% in 2022 to IDR3.79 trillion,” she concluded.
Meanwhile Commission X of the RI House of Representatives (DPR-RI) and the Ministry of Tourism agreed that national strategic programs and programs that are very useful and needed by the community will be carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy by taking into account suggestions, views, and proposals. [photo traveltext.id]
