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Published on : Saturday, December 5, 2020
The tourism sector as yet to pull through from the COVID slouch, with international tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy rate below the normal levels, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data have pinpointed the grave situation.
In October 2020, foreign tourist arrivals went slightly up to 158,200, a rise of 4.57 percent month-to-month from September, as per BPS. Nevertheless, it was still down 88.25 percent on an annual basis from the same month in 2019.
To quote Setianto, the deputy of services and distribution statistics at BPS on Tuesday, “With regard to COVID-19, there are countries that have relaxed [mobility restrictions] and countries that continue to impose tight [restrictions], which has made foreign tourists reconsider travel due to health issues.” Majority of foreign tourists came from neighboring Timor Leste, Malaysia and China.
If we look at the U.S. hotel demand, it probably won’t experience a full recovery until 2023, as per the latest forecast from travel data company STR and consultant Tourism Economics. The two firms on Thursday have explained that they hope average hotel occupancy of 40% in 2020, gradually rising to 52% in 2021. That’s down from a healthy 66% in last year.