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SENIOR economist Chatib Basri encouraged the government to create a stimulus in the form of discounts or discounts, especially in the tourism sector to mitigate the effects of the corona virus.
“How can foreign tourists who do not come, be assisted from domestic, for example lodging discounts such as the Bali bombings,” he said in Jakarta.
Besides lodging, other discount schemes, he continued, could also be from the cost of airplane tickets to drive demand. Likewise the conference activities affected by the corona virus, the Minister of Finance in 2013-2014 proposed that government meetings could be held in the regions.
“Strengthening the domestic economy needs to be done even though foreign trade is not so large due to the corona virus because its portion of gross domestic product (GDP) is small,” Chatib said.
This condition is different when compared to Singapore which is under great pressure because its share of foreign trade is large on GDP.
Other mitigation, he said, is strengthening the community’s economy, among others through the distribution of assistance to the Family Hope Program for the poor.
The tourism sector is one of the sectors affected by the outbreak of the corona virus. As a result, the government has temporarily suspended flights from and to China through all Indonesian entrances, one of which is in Bali.
“As many as 164 flight schedules connecting I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali to all destinations in Mainland China will be canceled starting on Wednesday, February 5, 2020,” he concluded. [antaranews/photo special]
