Tourism Sector Rakes in Profits During Eid al-Fitr Holiday 2018

The Eid al-Fitr tradition of homebound trip goes hand-in-hand with people's habit to go on a tour with their family. This year's Eid al-Fitr is an ideal time for it since the holiday is quite long and coincides with school holiday. Tourism sector was thus predicted to rake in profits during this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday season.

As quoted from Okezone.com on May 7, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Division Deputy Chair Yugi Prayanto forecasted that all local tourism destinations would be crowded.

"The long Eid al-Fitr holiday brings a lot of benefits to all parties, including the people and businesses," Yugi explained further.

He said that the people would have more time to visit their relatives and plan a holiday with their family. Meanwhile, businesses will profit as tourism destinations will see an increase in the number of visitors.

"Accommodation and F&B businesses, creative economy, and travel agents will also gain profits, because tourism sector cannot stand alone without the support from other fields of business such as F&B, handicrafts, and others," Yugi said.

His prediction was in line with the jump in bookings of transportation tickets and tour packages nearing the holiday. A travel agent in Indonesia, as quoted from Kontan.co.id on Tuesday (April 24), admitted that the number of tour package bookings increased by 12% compared to the same period in 2017.

The most favorite domestic tourism destinations are still Lombok, Medan, Yogyakarta, Malang, and Surabaya.

Not only that, the demand for vehicles during the Eid al-Fitr holiday also increased. A lot of demands were received by car rentals, including TRAC, a subsidiary of PT Serasi Autoraya (SERA) which operates in vehicle rental service.

"Vehicle rental service also shows increasing trend for homebound trip and Eid al-Fitr season. TRAC receives 30% more demand," TRAC Chief Operating Officer Agus Riyadi said during iftar dinner with journalists in South Jakarta, Friday (May 18).

According to Riyadi, most customers choose to rent a car without the driver, so they can enjoy holiday with their family in a more private, comfortable way.

It is even more important since this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday is longer than in the previous years. The government extended the collective Eid holiday by adding three more days, regulating it in Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) on Revision of Public Holiday and Collective Holiday 2018.

The government decided that the collective holidays will be on June 11, 12, 13, and 14, and after the Eid holiday on June 18, 19, and 20. Offices will resume their activities on June 21, 2018.

The policy will not only increase the profits of tourism businesses, but also reduce traffic congestion that often occurs during Eid homebound trips. Traffic during the period of homebound trip and reverse trip can be more evenly distributed.