JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - The number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia has decreased significantly by 89.22 percent in August 2020, the statistic bureau reported today. Total visiting to the country recorded 164,970.
Cumulatively, January to August, the number of arrivals to Indonesia reached 3.41 million visits or decreased by 68.17 percent compared to the same period in 2019, which totaled 10.71 million visits. The Room Occupancy Rate of star-classified hotels in Indonesia with an average of 32.93 percent or decreased by 21.21 points compared to the the same month in 2019, which was recorded at 54.14 percent.
However, when compared with July 2020, this figure has increased by 4.86 points. The average length of stay of foreign and Indonesian guests at star-classified hotels around 1.64 days, a decrease of 0.2 points when compared to August 2019.
Since, the COVID-19 outbreak hampered the archipelago, the government tried to lure more visitors from America, Australia, and European countries. To achieve this, the government will build connectivity such as direct flights to these countries as well as create high-quality attractions.
“From the beginning, our strategy did not have to depend on a country like China tourists all the time. We will shift our target to American, Australia and European countries, which we haven’t really tapped into,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio early of this year.
The minister revealed, based on machine learning monitoring, countries that are looking most for places of tourism in Indonesia are Australia, America and Europe such as Germany, Britain, and France. According to Kusubandio, the characteristics of Indonesia’s tourist destinations, which mostly boast natural wonders, suit the American and European markets, which largely prefers outdoor activities. However, marketing the archipelago as a tourist destination for them would be more costly as it requires more effort, he added.
In this connection, Indonesian tourism will begin to tread the road to focus on inbound strategies rather than outbound strategies. How we attract visitors by creating tourism valuable content and experiences tailored to them. The main focus is on increasing the quality of tourism, Kusubandio adds.
“Quality tourism will depend very much on what we offer or supply-side. We should increase our tourism competitiveness compared to countries in Southeast Asia,” he said, believes the strategy will be in accordance with the character of American and European tourists.
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
