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Indonesia Bans Travel Between Indonesia and China in Light of the Coronavirus Outbreak

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Indonesia Bans Travel Between Indonesia and China in Light of the Coronavirus Outbreak

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Indonesia announced the travel ban today despite protests from China

Jakarta, Indonesia / February 7th, 2020

As a result of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in China, Indonesian officials recently announced that travel bans would be put into place to restrict travel between Indonesia and China.

The decision was met with backlash from the Chinese government who insist that the move is unnecessary and that the country is doing everything they can to prevent the outbreak from spreading.

Despite China’s ongoing efforts to quell the spread of the new disease, Indonesia, like other countries across the globe has decided to ban travel two and from China as a temporary measure. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters “We're doing what other countries have already done. We have been very careful about this.”

The decision is set to cause an issue for many people, mainly Chinese nationals that are currently visiting Indonesia for the holidays. The tourist destinations of Bali and Lombok are popular amongst Chinese travelers and it is thought that thousands of Chinese tourists will be left stranded as a result of the government decision that became effective as of midnight on 05/02/2020.

Indonesian nationals wishing to visit China, or return home from China will also be affected by the ruling. However, although many Chinese tourists choose Indonesia as a popular tourist destination, very small numbers of Indonesias travel to China on a regular basis. Halal tours and Islamic pilgrimages like the ones offered by Travel Umroh are more popular amongst Indonesian tourists, as a result of the countries sizeable Muslim population.

Despite this, it is thought that some Indonesian tourists will also be affected by the ban, particularly those that work or trade-in China regularly.

The Tourism and creative economy minister Wishnutama Kusubandio said "Once again, our main priority is protecting the health of the Indonesian people. That is the main thing to consider at the moment

Although the ban is a temporary one, it is still unclear when the Indonesian government will be happy to lift the ban, and government officials have said that they are doing everything they can to reduce any negative impacts to the Indonesian tourism industry.

Source: Umroh.com

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Indonesia’s Tourism Industry Growth Rate Twice the Global Average

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Indonesia’s Tourism Industry Growth Rate Twice the Global Average

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Indonesia’s tourism industry has been growing at around twice the global average following strategic governmental action. This has both bolstered the economy and generated millions of employment opportunities for Indonesian citizens.

Jakarta, ID / January 2020 /

Indonesia is in the midst of a travel and tourism boom. According to data from the WTTC - the World Travel & Tourism Council - the Indonesian travel and tourism industry grew by around 7.8% in 2018. Comparably, the global average the same year was just half that at 3.9%.

The revenue generated from Indonesia’s travel and tourism contributed around $62 billion USD to the wider economy and created around 13 million jobs. In 2018, tourists spent around $15.5 billion in Indonesia, making it one of the top three largest travel and tourism economy in South East Asia, coming in just behind the Philippines and Thailand. Indonesia’s enormous travel sector accounts for a whopping 10.3% of all employment opportunities in the country.

This rapid growth is nothing new, it’s been ongoing for over a decade. For example, in 2017, the country increased its overseas visitors by around 2 million compared to the previous year.

Experts believe that this rapid growth is largely being driven by strategic, coordinated governmental efforts. Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism set a goal of achieving 20 million visitors by 2019 back in 2015, which would have been more than double tourism numbers at the time.

Their efforts to meet that target included implementing various visa reforms to relax visa requirements and carrying out an aggressive marketing campaign.

However, it’s not just Indonesia’s inbound tourism industry that is booming, but the outbound sector too. Thanks to enormous gains in poverty reduction and strong economic growth, Indonesia is an emerging lower middle-income country. Citizens now have more money to spend on luxuries like overseas travel, which has been beneficial to outbound tourism operators within the country.

In particular, the Halal travel industry holds a lot of promise for Indonesian travel businesses and investors. With the largest Muslim population in the world, there is a huge demand for Halal-friendly travel packages.

Online companies like Umroh.com help to meet this demand by providing Umrah travel and pilgrimage packages in Indonesia with permission from the Ministry of Religion.

Source: IV Media

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The religious event drew crowds of over 2 million over 6 days, according to Sky News.

Jakarta, Indonesia /26th Oct, 2019/

According to a news article published by Sky News, the Islam annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as 'The Hajj' was the world's biggest gathering of people.

It is thought that over 2 million people descended on the Saudia Arabian city of Mecca over the course of six days, creating what the reporter described as 'An awesome, gargantuan sight'.

Muslims from across the world flock to the holy city of Mecca every year, as part of a religious pilgrimage that fulfills one of the 5 pillars of Islam. According to Islamic belief, Mecca is thought to be the birthplace of the prophet Mohammed, making the small desert city the holiest place on earth for Muslims.

The holiest part of the city is the Kabba shrine, a cloth-covered structure that is surrounded by the Masjid al-Haram or 'sacred mosque'.

According to the Sky News eyewitness report, the Hajj or annual pilgrimage has grown in size over the years, and now takes the spot of the largest gathering of people in the world.

In countries like the UK, travel packages for the pilgrimage can cost upwards of £3000, however, it is thought that the annual pilgrimage is now more affordable and accessible than ever.

For this reason, Mecca now plays host to Muslims from around the world, including individuals from poorer north African nations and developing countries like Indonesia. Poorer Muslims can now afford to fulfill their pilgrimage much more easily thanks to travel companies like Umroh.com.

This accessibility has led to the number of visitors rising significantly over the last 10 years and this has caused accommodation options to develop seemingly out of nowhere. The areas surrounding the holy city are littered with tented developments that are a quick and easy option for housing more people during their visit.

As a result of this rapid growth in attendance, the Saudi Arabian government is reportedly 'knocking down mountains to make room for hotels'.

According to reports from the Saudi Government, they hope to welcome as many as 10 million Hajii's or pilgrims by the year 2030.

If the Saudi Governments projections are accurate, it looks as though the Haji will continue to break records for the biggest gathering of people year on year, which can only be a positive thing for the Islamic community worldwide, and Saudi Arabia's tourism industry.

Source: Umroh.com
Contact: info@umroh.com