Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, delves into the myriad negative impacts of the rupiah’s depreciation nearing Rp17,000 per US dollar on Indonesia’s tourism sector. Speaking during The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy headquarters in Central Jakarta on Monday (22/4), Sandiaga Uno articulated concerns over the ongoing depreciation of the rupiah.
“While some may perceive the rupiah’s depreciation as a potential boost to our value-added and competitiveness in tourism, overall, it will have a mixed but predominantly negative impact on our business environment,” remarked Sandiaga.
Firstly, Sandiaga highlighted the negative repercussion of escalating airfare prices due to the volatility in aviation fuel prices.
“The surge in airfare prices will undoubtedly affect domestic tourism. The interest of tourists in visiting Indonesia may be disrupted,” Sandiaga remarked.
“In response, our strategic approach involves preparing tourism packages that are more affordable for tourists,” Sandiaga elucidated.
“Activities such as purification ceremonies (melukat) in Bali have become increasingly popular. I’ve observed a significant increase in interest due to its affordability in terms of pricing and expenses,” he added.
Secondly, there is a potential for an increase in the prices of tour packages within Indonesia.
Sandiaga cautioned industry players against inflating tour package prices in response to the rupiah’s depreciation. One particular concern highlighted was the pricing of purification ceremonies (melukat) in Bali.
“Hopefully, tourism operators will not raise their prices due to the rupiah’s depreciation, but will instead adjust them according to the purchasing power of the public,” he emphasized.
The rupiah’s depreciation coincided with the Eid al-Fitr holiday period in 2024, exacerbated by concerns over a potential attack on Israel. Indeed, Israel was reportedly bombarded by hundreds of drones by Iran on Sunday (14/4) following an Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate office in Damascus, Syria. This action resulted in casualties among senior officials of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Israel is believed to have retaliated, allegedly launching attacks on Iran following three explosions heard near the city of Isfahan on Friday (19/4) morning.
However, the rupiah experienced a slight lift of 23 points or plus 0.14% to reach Rp16,237 per US dollar on Monday (22/4) afternoon.
