Travel Association Worried Rising Airfare Will Halt Tourism Revival

TheIndonesia.co - While Indonesia has been gradually enjoying the revival of tourism industry post-COVID pandemic, the rising flight price comes as a new challenge that may disrupt the positive trend, says travel agencies association.

The Association of the Indonesian Tours & Travel Agencies (ASITA) in West Kalimantan said they are concerned that recent increase in plane ticket prices might significantly impact the national tourism industry that has only been brought back to life after being badly hit by global COVID-19 outbreak.

“Recently, plane tickets for both domestic and international destinations significantly increased by up to 70 percent, and it becomes a new challenge in tourism industry that must be collectively resolved,” chairman of ASITA West Kalimantan Ifan Ronaldo Barus said on Monday, June 13, as reported by Antara.

The improving COVID-19 situation and relaxed social restrictions, he said, contribute greatly to the recovery of tourism. And during the Idul Fitri holidays earlier this year, the number of Indonesians who traveled during the period was among the highest in the last two years.

“Tourism industry is only recently recovering and heading to normal, but then flight tickets rise. The impact is massive and can hinder people from traveling,” Barus explained the concern.

And to deal with the situation, ASITA said industry players must innovate, including through creating attractive travel packages for tourists.

“Promotion must be done aggressively. [Particularly] in West Kalimantan, there is huge potential, but great effort is still needed to promote the province,” Barus continued.

In Indonesia, the price of flight tickets have been steadily increasing. According to the Ministry of Transportation, it’s caused by several factors, including low airline occupancy rate and the rise of avtur price.

Among the solutions offered by the Ministry is by working with local governments across the country to block a number of seats for official travels. This is expected to push occupancy rate to 60 percent, in the hope that plane ticket will eventually lower and return to normal.