Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation has projected that a total of 146.48 million people will travel during the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holidays, marking a 24 percent decline from 193.6 million last year.
"It is true that the potential mobility of people during this year's Eid al-Fitr mass travel to hometowns is lower than last year," Budi Rahardjo, head of the ministry's communication and public information bureau, said on Saturday.
He made the statement in response to a survey conducted by the ministry's Transportation Policy Agency, which indicates that 52 percent of Indonesia's population is expected to join the annual exodus.
Providing more details about the survey, Rahardjo said that in mid-February, the agency gathered the necessary data based on respondents' answers.
However, the survey results may not reflect the actual trend, as people could still change their decision on traveling to their hometowns this year, he remarked.
Rahardjo also emphasized that the survey was not designed to identify the causes of the projected decline.
"Since the cause of the decline was not the focus of the research, we are unable to specify the reason for the projected decline," he said.
Ministry spokesperson Elba Damhuri corroborated Rahardjo's statement, saying that he could not provide details on the cause, as the survey was not intended to identify what would drive or prevent people from making the trip to their hometowns.
"Our survey shows that 146.48 million are predicted to travel to their hometowns. However, this survey did not delve deeper into the cause of a rise or decline in numbers. We will not speculate on the cause," he added.
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Translator: Muhammad H, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Anton Santoso
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