Coronavirus in China; Wishnutama Targets US Tourists

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Wishnutama, targets potential tourists from other countries, such as Australia and the United States, in anticipation of the impact of the Coronavirus in China. He said that he has yet to receive detailed information on the impact of the virus on tourist visits from China.

The alternatives, as according to Wishnutama, are based on data from the country of origin of tourists visiting Indonesia. "It turns out that the largest [tourist] number is from Australia and the second is the United States," he said, quoted from the official website setkab.go.id, on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

Although the potential is there, the minister said, there are currently a limited amount of direct flights to and from these countries, as well as a lack of intensive promotion. Some of the areas he is targeting include San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. “Those are the biggest cities,” said Wishnutama.

With plans for development in those markets, he emphasized that Indonesia should not only rely on tourist visits from one country, in order to anticipate unexpected events in the future.

In regards to the impacts of the Wuhan virus, the tourism minister claimed about 50,000 tourists from Wuhan, China last year, were recorded to visit Indonesia.

“But we can't talk about the city itself. There are other influences from the other (parties) that must have an impact because China has also issued many regulations now, from its travel agents and so forth,” he said. Currently, flights to and from Wuhan has been temporarily discontinued.

Wishnutama went on to say that a number of other countries are still handling issues related to the Coronavirus. “Yesterday I also had a discussion with Mrs. Retno, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we are still in yellow. Yellow means caution, while red is no travel. Especially in Hubei Province, it is no travel,” he said.

CAESAR AKBAR | DIO SUHENDA (Intern Translator)