Purchasing Power Weakens, Travel Abroad Remains Abundant
According to observers, the four consecutive months of deflation from May to August 2024 indicate a weakening in the purchasing power of the public.
This is evident from the mass layoffs across various industries, which the Ministry of Manpower says have already affected more than 46,000 workers, as well as the decline in new vehicle sales, weakening retail sales, and consumer confidence, and the hesitation of manufacturers to expand.
However, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of Indonesians or domestic tourists (wisnas) traveling abroad has risen quite rapidly.
During the January-July 2024 period, it reached 5.34 million trips, an increase of 22.15% compared to the same period last year, according to BPS Deputy for Distribution and Service Statistics, Pudji Ismartini, in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (2/9/2024).
Pudji acknowledged that the figure is still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, when 6.83 million domestic tourists traveled abroad in the first 7 months of 2019.
However, he stated that the number of domestic tourist trips this year has continued to increase, reaching 917,804 trips in July 2024 alone, a 7.23% increase compared to June 2024 and a 12.46% increase compared to July 2023. The school holiday season and the Hajj pilgrimage contributed to the increase in domestic tourist travel in July 2024.
Malaysia was the main destination for domestic tourists in July 2024, accounting for 33.14%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 18.33%, Singapore at 12.86%, Thailand at 5.18%, China at 4.24%, Timor Leste at 4.09%, Cambodia at 2.83%, Japan at 2.72%, Australia at 2.71%, and South Korea at 1.52%.
The remaining 12.38% of domestic tourists visited other countries. Nearly 80% of domestic tourist travel was by air, an increase of 6.32% compared to June 2024, followed by sea transportation at 14.4% and land transportation at 6.5%.
Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians or domestic tourists (wisnus) traveling to various tourist destinations within the country reached 77.24 million trips in July 2024, a 7.46% decrease compared to June 2024 (m-to-m), but a 4.83% increase compared to July 2023 (y-on-y).
Cumulatively, from January to July 2024, domestic tourist travel in Indonesia reached 598.72 million trips, an 18.03% increase compared to the same period last year.
