ER
THE BEAUTY of mother earth is not enough to be discussed in one day. The landscape stretches from Sabang to Merauke, the uniqueness and character in every corner of the country seems to offer its own charm for travelers from all over the world. The archipelago is rich in tourism treasures.
From the west end, the city with the nickname Veranda of Mecca offers the Bukit Cinta tourist attraction with a distinctive culture. For those who want to experience a religious adventure, the grandeur of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is certainly the right destination.
Moving on to the North Sumatra region, tourists can enjoy various water-based natural tourist destinations such as Lake Toba, Lake Siombak, Telaga Dwi Warna Sibolangit Waterfall, and many others.
Meanwhile, the attractiveness of the eastern region of Indonesia is no less strong. The famous Raja Ampat archipelago is ready to pamper tourists who set foot on Cenderawasih Earth.
The wealth of Indonesian tourism is not only due to its nature, but its cultural customs also support it. Many heritage traditions, arts and culture are also an attraction. Various culinary offerings also offer a variety of unique and interesting experiences from each tourist destination across Indonesia.
With so many existing tourist destinations, the government has mapped out and focused on developing potential tourist destinations to become super priority tourist destinations.
The five super priority destinations are Borobudur in Central Java, Likupang in North Sulawesi, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara. This destination, according to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, is one of President Joko Widodo’s direct instructions in an effort to increase Indonesian tourism.
“Pak President Jokowi instructed to focus on developing five super priority destinations first. Make sure that in the midst of a pandemic we improve, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of the creative economy,” said the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.
President Jokowi hopes that the five super priority destinations will grow and develop first, before the same thing is done in other tourist areas. If in the future the five destinations have been completed, then in the coming years they will be expanded and developed into world-class tourist destinations.
The Tourism Minister is optimistic that the target for developing these super priority tourist destinations will be completed by the end of 2023 or mid-2024.
Boost domestic tourists
Indonesia, which consists of a group of islands, is united by the breadth of the ocean. This condition is one of the challenges for the government to provide adequate tourism infrastructure, facilities and infrastructure.
Airplanes are the choice of travelers to enjoy the beauty of Indonesia from one city to another. This transportation facility cuts travel time shorter than other modes of transportation. Even so, airplanes are not always the first choice because they are influenced by airport availability and capacity as well as fluctuating ticket prices.
Especially during certain seasons, for example school holidays, Eid Al-Fitr, including Christmas and New Year, flight ticket prices can increase up to 100% or more than normal prices. If you look at the end of 2022, where the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) status has been revoked, the Jakarta-Bali ticket is observed to be around IDR1,600.00 for economy class. Even though during normal times, ticket prices are in the range of IDR700,000 to IDR900,000 per passenger.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, which oversees the tourism sector, is trying to strive for the stability of commercial flight ticket prices. Sandiaga Uno, who oversees the matter, is coordinating with the Ministry of Transportation to increase the number of flights and ensure the availability of seats with several airlines.
This year, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is targeting the movement of domestic tourists of 1.4 billion. To achieve this target, Tourism Ministry and related staff carry the spirit of fast movement (gercep), joint movement (geber) and all potential employment (gaspol) or 3G to revive domestic tourism, including with the ranks of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises in the procurement of aviation fuel.
With these various efforts, it is hoped that it will be able to bring down the price of avtur for domestic routes. At Soekarno-Hatta Airport, the price of avtur, based on the First One Solution data, has been observed to have fallen.
On 15-31 January 2023 it is at IDR15,136.8 per liter for domestic flights and 88.2 US cents/liter for international flights. While in the period 1-14 February 2023 it fell to IDR14,947.59 per liter for domestic flight routes and 88.9 US cents/liter for international flights.
Answering the question why ticket prices could increase significantly, Sandiaga Uno said that this was influenced by the load factor, the availability of aircraft and the price of Avtur.
Garuda Contribution
The state-owned airline providing flight services, Garuda Indonesia, is making a positive contribution to the recovery of the national tourism sector by gradually optimizing the frequency of various flight routes with high levels of occupancy to Indonesia’s leading destinations.
“We can ensure that in determining ticket prices, Garuda Indonesia always refers to the rules set by the government, especially regarding the Upper Limit Tariff (TBA) and Lower Limit Tariff (TBB) policies,” said Garuda Main Director Irfan Setiaputra.
In a prudent manner, the implementation of ticket prices is carried out by taking into account the supporting aspects of ticket prices, namely aviation fuel, so that his party ensures that they have adjusted to the corridors of applicable regulations.
In line with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, which wants to provide solutions to existing problems, the Ministry of Transportation is also committed to improving the quality of infrastructure, one of which is at Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, which is said to be the busiest airport managed by PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) in 2022.
The airport on the Island of the Gods is trying to expand its capacity to 35 million passengers per year or three times the current capacity.
“With the Emirates airline’s plan to operate the Wide Body Airbus A380 aircraft in mid-2023, it is necessary to increase capacity such as extending the runway, developing terminals and aprons so that the services provided are even better,” said Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi.
In addition, the Ministry of Transportation is also committed to increasing connectivity in the Province of Bali which is also a tourist magnet for Indonesia by connecting surrounding areas such as Lombok and Banyuwangi.
Through regional development as a whole, it is hoped that there will be a greater impact on the progress of the tourism sector, compared to building a new airport.
The revocation of the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) has received a response from many groups, including the tourism community. By strengthening the synergy and collaboration of various related parties, it is hoped that the world of national tourism will be excited again. [antaranews/photo special]
