The Impact of COVID-19 on World and Tourism

The Impact of COVID-19 on World and Tourism The impact of the corona virus that emerged since the end of 2019 is not only on health. The economies of various countries were also affected. The tourism industry is one of them. Even though China has made various efforts to prevent the spread of the corona virus from Wuhan, case after case has been found in other countries. This causes people to be increasingly afraid to travel. Flights are quiet and the country is isolated so it looks like it is isolated. Some countries such as the United States have even implemented a travel ban to slow the spread of the corona virus. President Trump imposed a 30-day travel ban for Europe. The United States Department of Homeland Security announced that any type of travel to the United States is not permitted due to the coronavirus. This regulation applies to those in Europe 14 days before their scheduled departure for the United States. Except for the United Kingdom, these European countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland , Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. This ban was implemented because the corona virus cases in Europe were getting worse. In Italy, for example, there have been around 10,000 sufferers and 650 deaths. This condition places Italy as the second country with the most cases of coronavirus after China. Many trips to Europe have also been cancelled. Airlines suffered significant losses and airline ticket bookings decreased by 50%. So what about the impact of the corona virus on the Indonesian tourism industry? Since the corona virus outbreak occurred, there are three cities in Indonesia that have had minimal visits from foreign tourists. The three tourist destinations are Bali, Manado and the Riau Islands. Reporting from Kompas.com, Deputy for Tourism Marketing and Creative Economy, Tourism and Creative Economy Agency of the Republic of Indonesia, Nia Niscaya, said that the three destinations have different impacts. If Bali has an impact on overseas (foreign tourists), because we know Bali is a choice for foreign tourists. So not only Chinese tourists, but also tourists from other countries. Furthermore, for Manado, the impact was felt because the largest tourist market there came from China. The closure of flights to and from China has made tourist destinations in Manado experience the biggest impact. Meanwhile, the Riau Islands tourist destination is divided into two areas affected by the corona virus issue, namely Bintan and Batam. Nia said Batam was targeting Singaporean tourists, while Bintan was targeting Chinese tourists. The fear of traveling, whether domestic or international, is also felt by the Indonesian people themselves. This can also be seen from the domino effect that occurs in tourism supporting sectors, such as hotels and restaurants and retail entrepreneurs. Reporting from katadata.co.id, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) said that the impact of the spread of the corona virus was felt by hotel, restaurant and airline entrepreneurs who have a massive share and investment value. This dynamic is said to be force majeure or an unavoidable condition. So, what are the right steps to revive the tourism industry after being affected by the corona virus? It cannot be denied that the tourism sector is one of the largest sources of income for Indonesia. Therefore, the government continues to make efforts so that the world of tourism in Indonesia is always busy amidst the ongoing corona virus. One way that the government has done is to provide incentives to the Indonesian people in the form of discounts in various tourism sectors. This discount is used as a stimulus for tourism as a result of the corona virus (COVID-19). Since the beginning of March 2020, all Indonesian people have been able to enjoy discounts on plane tickets of up to 50 percent. This discount applies to routes to 10 domestic tourist destinations, namely Batam, Denpasar, Yogyakarta, Labuan Bajo, Lombok, Malang, Manado, Silangit, Tanjung Pinang and Tanjung Pandan. Quoting from Kompas.com, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi revealed that 50 percent came from the Government, AP I and II, Airnav Indonesia and Pertamina. Fare discounts are given to 25 percent of the total number of passengers on one flight to and from these 10 destinations. Airline companies also responded positively to this government policy. One of them, Garuda Indonesia, welcomed the move to provide incentives from the government. Deputy Managing Director of Garuda Indonesia, Dony Oskaria, explained that around 25 percent of the seats were given by Garuda Indonesia for this government incentive. Apart from that, Citilink Indonesia as a sister of Garuda Indonesia also strongly supports the government's policy of providing a 50 percent discount on domestic plane tickets. This is done to increase the attractiveness of Indonesian people to travel for tourism at relatively low costs. Apart from providing incentives in the form of a 50 percent discount on plane tickets, the government also reduced hotel and restaurant taxes in these 10 tourist destinations so that the rates were reduced to zero. For this reason, the government will subsidize or provide grants to regional governments affected by the reduction in hotel and restaurant tax rates in the regions by IDR 3.3 trillion. The government hopes that this incentive program can be effective in increasing foreign tourists and increasing domestic tourists.