The PPKM policy revocation, which the government announced in late December 2022, has made people more confident about traveling.
"We hope, this year, the hotel occupancy can return to like 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic)," he said when contacted from here on Saturday.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the room occupancy of star-rated hotels stood at 56.9 percent in December 2022, an increase of 5.33 percentage points compared to December 2021.
Compared to the previous month, November 2022, the occupancy recorded in December 2022 showed an increase of 2.49 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the room occupancy of non-star-rated hotels in December 2022 stood at 26.45 percent, reflecting an increase of 1.88 percentage points compared to December 2021 and an increase of 2.41 percentage points compared to November 2022.
According to Sukamdani, the growth in hotel occupancy was due to the visits of domestic tourists. Meanwhile, international tourists did not make a significant impact.
However, he projected that with the reopening of China recently, the number of international tourists visiting hotels in Indonesia will increase.
Separately, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), Bhima Yudhistira, said that the revocation of the PPKM policy has led to people spending significantly on travel.
Growth in the tourism sector will support the growth of industries under it, such as the hotel industry.
"The prediction is this tourism consumption trend will continue during Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr," he said.
Meanwhile, a senior economist from the Center of Reform on Economics (Core) Indonesia, Yusuf Rendy Manilet, said that the increase in hotel occupancy this year has been due to several factors, such as the staycation trend and the increasing number of COVID-19-free certified hotels.
To this end, he advised the hotel industry to improve facilities, carry out promotions, and get COVID-19-free certification from the government to attract tourists.
"These three steps make tourists feel more comfortable and safe when staying in hotels," Manilet said.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia, Raka Adji
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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