Sandiaga Uno: 59 Million Homecomers to Visit Tourist Sites during Eid Holidays

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno predicted that 60 to 70 percent of homecomers will visit tourist attractions during the Eid al-Fitr 1443 Hijri or Lebaran holidays.

As reported in the latest survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry’s research and development agency, the number of people who will return to their hometown for Eid celebrations will reach 85 million.

“We predict that 51-59.5 million people will visit tourist sites in the regions. Most of the homecomers this year will still be concentrated in six Java regions, namely Central Java, East Java, West Java, Jakarta, Banten, and Yogyakarta,” said Sandiaga in a written statement, Tuesday, April 19.

He hoped that travelers would spread out evenly, especially in tourist villages. He appealed to the public not to flock to certain tourist sites and cause crowds in one location.

The evenly spread of tourists is expected in line with the relaxed travel requirements. At present, the government allows people who have received the booster vaccine or the third dose of the Covid vaccine to travel long distances without presenting a negative result of an antigen or RT-PCR test.

“In addition, the existence of the toll road will ease travelers from Java to visit destinations in Sumatra as well as Bali and NTB,” said Sandiaga.

Travelers are also encouraged to spend their money on products and services offered by the regions. Thus, the money circulation during Lebaran holidays could contribute positively to economic recovery in districts or cities.

Sandiaga Uno also predicted that the money circulation in the tourism sector during the Eid homecoming period will reach Rp72 trillion.

Read: Sandiaga Uno Eyes to Expand Tourist Access to Bali

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA