To increase the number of travelers, the Indonesian government is proposing to lower airline ticket prices through state subsidies.
The issue of high prices has previously been noted by authorities and participants in the tourism sector. A plan was developed that includes reducing aircraft maintenance costs and lowering taxes. Now, there is also a proposal for subsidies on airline tickets for tourists. This practice exists in neighboring Malaysia.
Many industry leaders note a gradual increase in the cost of flights to and from Indonesian airports, including Bali's international airport. For example, the deputy chairman of the Bali Tourism Industry Association (GIPI), I Nyoman Astama, said that the high ticket prices affect the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali. He specifically noted that the number of foreign tourists from Europe might decrease due to the rise in airline ticket prices.
Astama pointed out that there has been "a significant increase in ticket prices, sometimes even doubling." Previously, a flight from Europe would cost around 15 million rupiahs, but now it is likely to require up to 25 million. The price has indeed nearly doubled. Although tourism statistics show a sharp increase in interest from European tourists in traveling to Bali, the rising cost of flights might deter them at the planning stage.
Astama added, "Fortunately, since a large number of Australian tourists are flying to the island, the trends remain positive." According to him, advertising campaigns are needed to maintain and increase the number of foreign tourists. He specified that more advertising is needed, including abroad.
In conclusion, the tourism expert compared the marketing strategies of Bali's main competitors: "In addition to a variety of attractions, their advertising strategies and budgets may be larger than ours. Therefore, we need to work in this direction to ensure the number of foreign tourists to Bali continues to grow."
The increase in airline ticket prices, especially for domestic flights, was described as a challenge for the tourism business by Anton N. Sumarli, the deputy chairman of the Astindo tourism company, particularly for stimulating the sale of domestic tour packages. The high cost of domestic flight tickets even causes Indonesian tourists to prefer overseas tour packages to countries like Thailand, Japan, and South Korea.
In turn, the general chairman of the Asita company, N. Rusmiati, noted that interest in domestic tourism is also affected by ticket prices, which account for up to 60% of the cost of a tour package. Therefore, in an effort to stimulate domestic tourism, travel agents are encouraging government efforts through the Task Force on Reducing Airline Ticket Prices.
Subsidizing flights will certainly help stimulate more tourists to book tickets to Bali, especially those who make last-minute travel decisions.
Sources: nusa-bali, cnnindonesia
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