Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Wishnutama Kusubandio recently vowed to disburse an aid package worth 3.3 trillion IDR (224 million USD) for tourism-related businesses and local administrations.
An Indonesian health official checks the temperature of a foreign tourist arriving from Bali heading to a tourist area (Photo: AFP)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative EconomyWishnutama Kusubandio recently vowed to disburse an aid package worth 3.3trillion IDR (224 million USD) for tourism-related businesses and localadministrations.
The move aimed to help cushion the impacts of the pandemic on the sector andimprove health protocol implementation at tourist destinations.
The aid is to be sourced from the Indonesian government’s COVID-19 economicrecovery fund of 695.2 trillion IDR, aimed to finance the healthcare system andbolster the economy.
Wishnutama said that the grant is expected to help the hotel and restaurantindustry that is facing financial difficulties and the local administrationsthat are losing out on revenue due to the pandemic, adding that the grant wasexpected to help the businesses and administrations until December.
The pandemic has depressed the tourist industry amid the imposition oflarge-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in various regions to curb virustransmission.
It has wiped out around 85 trillion IDR of Indonesia’s tourism revenue as ofJuly, with estimated 70-trillion-IDR losses posted by the hotel and restaurantindustry, according to data from the Indonesian Hotel and RestaurantAssociation (PHRI).
The number of foreign visitors to Indonesia dropped 68.17 percent to 3.41million visits as of August this year, compared to 10.71 million visitors inthe same period last year, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data./.
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An Indonesian health official checks the temperature of a foreign tourist arriving from Bali heading to a tourist area (Photo: AFP) 
