Economist Backs Sandiaga Uno's Idea Making Harpitnas as Holiday

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Director of the Center of Economics and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira, responded to Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno's suggestion for 'Harpitnas', a term coined for working day caught-in-between-national holidays, to be considered as a national day off.

Bhima stated that he supported the idea. According to Bhima, the assumption that with more days off productivity decreases is wrong.

"In fact, it’s wrong. Many studies find that more effective working hours and longer vacation time can actually boost the productivity of a country's economy," Bhima said in Seribu Rasa Gunawarman, South Jakarta on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

More national holidays, Bhima argued, will drive higher tourism spending. Moreover, the government had already ended the public mobility restrictions or PPKM. "This can increase spending on tourism, hotels, and others. It will bring positive effects," Bhima said.

Bhima also argued that if the proposal is accepted, the number of domestic tourists will certainly skyrocket. Therefore, he asked for the proposal to be applied soon as it only needs a joint decree (SKB) of several ministries.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said as previous reports suggested, that the request for Harpitnas to be national holidays was one of the efforts to achieve the target of 1.4 billion domestic tourist trips in 2023. The proposal had already been submitted to the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform.

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI | ANTARA

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