COVID-19 outbreak hits Indonesian tourism industry
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first reported in China, has hit Indonesia’s tourism sector as the country records slower growth in tourist arrivals following bans applied to visitors from China.
Tourists walk to the pick-up point in Sanur beach, Denpasar after their return from Nusa Penida Island in Bali. (Photo: )
Jakarta (VNA) – The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first reported in China,has hit Indonesia’s tourism sector as the country records slower growth intourist arrivals following bans applied to visitors from China.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on March 2 revealedthat foreign arrivals amounted to 1.27 million in January, up 5.85 percentcompared to the same month of the previous year. However, the growth is muchlower than the around 9.5 percent year-on-year increase recorded in January2019.
BPS deputy director for statistics distribution and service Yunita Rusanti saidthe impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was only be significantly seen in the lastweek of January because the number of tourists from China, Malaysia andSingapore to the country promptly declined.
Notably, the statisticsagency data showed that the number of tourists from Malaysia – Indonesia’slargest tourism market - fell 10.6 percent year-on-year to 206,532 in January,accounting for around 16 percent of the total international visitors.
Indonesia set to welcome 17 million international holidaymakers thisyear. Last year, the country hosted a total of 16.1 million foreign visitors,far below the target of 20 million.
Recently, the Indonesian Government announced an economic stimulus packageworth 10.3 trillion rupiah (about 742 million USD). In addition, it will grant 3.3 trillion rupiah to 33 provinces andcities to exempt tax for hotels and restaurants in the next six months, while providing298.5 billion rupiahs for airlines and travel firms to attract foreign tourists,and 443.39 billion rupiah for reducing prices of tours to 10 domesticdestinations./.
Indonesia will cut prices of airline tickets by 40 to 50 percent in a move to encourage tourism development amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
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Tourists walk to the pick-up point in Sanur beach, Denpasar after their return from Nusa Penida Island in Bali. (Photo: ) 
