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COORDINATING Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, acknowledged that investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the tourism sector remains relatively limited. He attributes the minimal inflow of capital to constraints on access to flight routes.
The SEZs in question are the Mandalika Special Economic Zone of West Nusa Tenggara, Tanjung Lesung Banteng Special Economic Zone, Morotai Special Economic Zone of North Maluku, Likupang Special Economic Zone of North Sulawesi, and Golo Mori Special Economic Zone of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
He stated that the lack of investment in tourism SEZs is due to the absence of direct airline routes connecting neighboring countries to smaller cities.
Prior to the pandemic, Airlangga noted that direct flight routes to several tourism SEZs were more widely available. He stated that the lack of accessibility makes it challenging for SEZs to attract tourists.
“If there are no flights, how will tourists be able to access the SEZs? If tourists have to go to Jakarta first to get to Mandalika or North Sulawesi, it’s a round trip,” said Airlangga at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta on Tuesday (12/17), 2024.
Airlangga stated that the government is working to establish direct flight services from various domestic and international airports, with the aim of serving the tourism sector SEZs in Indonesia.
He added that the government plans to open regional airlines to provide direct flights to their destinations. Direct flight services are one of the incentives that can accelerate the entry of investment in tourism SEZs. Opening international routes is part of the incentive, but the key is to establish an air bridge.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has set a target of US$7.38 billion to US$13.08 billion for foreign exchange earnings from the tourism and creative economy sector by 2024. By July 2024, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy anticipates collecting foreign exchange of US$7.46 billion or IDR113.69 trillion, assuming an exchange rate of IDR15,240 per US dollar.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has recorded 7.75 million foreign tourist visits by July 2024, representing 45.59% of the target of 17 million foreign tourist visits for the year. [katadata/photo special]
