Hotel, Restaurant Industry in Indonesia Loses $4.8b Due to Covid-19 Pandemic

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia's hotel and restaurant industry incurred losses worth $4.8 billion or about 70 trillion rupiahs from January to April 2020 due to the spread of Covid-19, a hotelier said on Tuesday, July 14.

Hariyadi Sukamdani, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), said that 2,000 hotels and 8,000 restaurants had to cease operations in the effort to contain the coronavirus transmission in Indonesia.

“The hotel industry lost 30 trillion rupiahs ($2.07 billion) and restaurants 40 trillion rupiahs ($2.76 billion) until April,” said Hariyadi during a working meeting on tourism recovery with Commission X of the House of Representatives.

He added that hotel and restaurant employees were laid off or took unpaid leave.

The rest in the tourism sector were also devastated. Airlines incurred aggregate losses of $812 million and tour operators four trillion rupiahs ($276.37 million).

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Hariyadi said a decline in tourism demand was caused by various factors. 

"The handling of Covid-19 was not optimal at the beginning, so it carries over until now." 

The restrictions on community activities and public transportation led to the decline of people's purchasing power.

Hariyadi said workers in the formal sector were also affected after many lost their jobs or were forced to take unpaid leave. 

The pandemic has also changed people's behavior, he said. People chose to stay at home, shopped only for basic needs, and experienced virtual entertainment while at home.

(Writer: Lidya Yuniartha | Editor: Wahyu T.Rahmawati, Yoga Sukmana)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/07/14/193000926/pengusaha-hotel-dan-restoran-mengaku-rugi-rp-70-triliun-akibat-corona.