Eid holidays need to be managed more optimally

"So, going home is the best habit in Indonesia for tourism. The Eid holiday is good for tourism. "It's just that our management was wrong," said General Chair of the Indonesian Tourism Scholars Association, Azril Azhari, when contacted from Jakarta, Saturday (27/4/2024).

Also read: Eid Tourism Boosts Regional Economy

He highlighted the traffic jams that occurred at Pelabuhan Merak, Banten, and Pelabuhan Bakauheni, Lampung, during last year's Eid al-Fitr homecoming and return flow. However, these traffic jams have always happened every year but have not been able to be anticipated. Moreover, now that the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is in operation, this issue should be mitigated.

The multiplying effect, Azril continued, many things are lost because accidents happen. However, this condition can be suppressed if there is a fair distribution of people's movement schedule.

"For holidays, don't take holidays together, it will destroy us," he said.

Vehicle density in various places occurs due to everyone's holiday schedule, both private and government employees, happening simultaneously. Not to mention school holidays, which also coincide.

The solution, according to Azril, is to have a separate vacation schedule for government and private sector employees. However, among these two groups, government employees are the easiest to manage in terms of scheduling. They can compromise and take vacation after the private sector employees.

Also read: Tourism Villages and Eid "Cuan"

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) estimates that people's movements during homecoming and the 2024 Eid holiday will have a significant impact. His party claims economic turnover in the tourism and creative sector reached IDR 369.8 trillion.

"This calculation is based on the estimated number of people's movements recorded by the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub), as well as the percentage of people who travel and the average expenditure tourists based on the results of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy survey," said Adyatama Kemenparekraf Tourism Nia Certainly in mid-April.

In a survey by the Ministry of Transportation before the homecoming traffic, around 193.6 million people potentially travel homecoming from the total population. The number is equivalent to 71.7 percent of 48,372 respondents in 38 provinces.

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also distributed a survey of domestic tourists' activity preferences during the last holiday. The survey captured 1,756 respondents who indicated that beaches or lakes were the people's main choice (56.1 percent). The position is followed by culinary centers (50.8 percent), mountains/agritourism (41.9 percent), recreation parks/zoos (29.9 percent), and shopping centers (26.6 percent).

Nia stated that the average per capita expenditure for tourism is Rp 2.73 million. The biggest expenses are used for accommodation, followed by transportation, food and beverages, and souvenirs.

Potential for domestic tourists

The development of domestic tourists needs to be prioritized over foreign tourists. This is because its economic potential is largely contributed by the movement of domestic tourists.

"Let's focus on domestic tourists first because it's a great opportunity, the economy emerges from the people. People who want to go back to their hometowns from Jakarta or Surabaya bring money. So, money circulates through them. They are great because they move money to their hometowns. This has to be managed well," said Azril.

He regrets that such things are not arranged properly, including the arrangement and preparation of tourism locations in the region. Local governments (pemda) do not have special preparations to welcome Eid al-Fitr.

The cleanliness of tourist locations is often complained about. The local government should educate tourists while they are on vacation. One way is to provide empty plastic bags to visitors. Anyone who successfully fills the plastic bag with scattered litter is entitled to receive a prize, including souvenirs or products from micro, small, and medium enterprises.

"So, it's not the officers who clean, but the tourists themselves. Why wasn't this habit created? "If it's dirty, yes, we'll clean it together because there are few officers," said Azril.

The concept of reward (reward)is considered more effective than punishment (punishment). Time management and cleanliness should be a habit in Indonesian tourism destinations.

Also read: Improve Supervision and Security of Tourist Destinations During Eid Holidays