Shopping "Travel" Exceeds the Pre-Pandemic Era

Public interest in taking vacations and traveling on tours continues to grow. In fact, public expenditure for travel is already higher compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Belanja ”Travel” Lampaui Era Sebelum Pandemi

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

The atmosphere of the Kompas Travel Fair (KTF) 2023 exhibition at ICE BSD, Tangerang, Banten, on Friday (1/9/2023). KTF 2023 will take place for three days, from the 1st to the 3rd of September 2023.

TANGERANG, KOMPAS - The public's enthusiasm for vacations and tourism continues to grow. In fact, their spending on tourism has surpassed pre-Covid-19 levels.

Senior Vice President of PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Yudita Wahyu Dewanti said that the public's enthusiasm for recreation is very high after the pandemic. This is evidenced by the growth in transaction value of Bank Mandiri's credit cards for holidays and travel.

Bank Mandiri noted that the value of credit card transactions for the travel category during the January-August 2023 period reached IDR 2.8 trillion. This value grew 71.4 percent compared to the same period last year. By the end of the year, growth is expected to reach 80 percent.

"The transaction value has even exceeded the transaction value in the same period in 2019 or before the pandemic. So, it's extraordinary tourism and travel interest from our customers," said Yudita when opening Kompas Travel Fair 2023 at ICE BSD, Tangerang, Banten, on Friday (1/9/2023)."

See photo: Kompas Travel Fair 2023 Travel and Tourism Exhibition Officially Opens

Bank Mandiri Vice President Card Head Bery Agung Puspandika said, based on transaction data, currently there tends to be a balance between overseas and domestic travel. This is the effect of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekfraf) program which encourages travel to various corners of the archipelago. Before the pandemic, the trend of traveling abroad was higher than domestic with a ratio of 60 percent and 40 percent.

The high public interest in traveling was also expressed by Emerging Affluent & Digital Marketing Head PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk Jeannette Tampi. Based on Visa data, the value of credit card transactions for the travel category tends to increase after the pandemic.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Vice President of Bank Mandiri, Yudita Wahyu Dewanti, delivered an address during the opening of the Kompas Travel Fair (KTF) 2023 at ICE BSD, Tangerang, Banten, on Friday (1/9/2023).

Tourist village

In the same event, Director of Marketing for Regional Tourism II at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Cecep Rukendi, stated that post-pandemic, tourists tend to look for more personal and localized travel experiences. This phenomenon is different from before the pandemic, when tourists tended to seek massive destinations.

"Such phenomena 'benefit' tourist villages. In addition to their natural surroundings, each tourist village has unique local wisdom," he said, when met during the Kompas Travel Fair (KTF) 2023 on Friday (1/9/2023), in Jakarta."

According to Cecep, in the last three years there have been 175 tourist villages that have been awarded the Indonesian Tourist Village Award (ADWI). This government appreciation is expected to encourage tourism villages to become more competitive.

Also read: Tourist Villages Have the Potential to Become a Source of New Growth

One of the tourist villages participating in KTF 2023 is the Cipta Karya Tourism Village, Sungai Betung, Bengkayang (West Kalimantan). The Head of Cipta Karya Village, Benyamin Kalvin, when met at the exhibition location, said that the number of visitors to Cipta Karya Tourism Village would reach 7,000 people in 2022. This number only came from residents from West Kalimantan. Every year there is an increasing trend in visitors.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

The appearance of a security guard at one of the booths of Kompas Travel Fair (KTF) 2023 in ICE BSD, Tangerang, Banten, on Friday (1/9/2023).

"Our village has also previously hosted tourists from abroad, such as Canada. They came to tour and learn. This is because in our village, there are Borneo Shrike-thrush and Hornbill birds," he said.

All operations of the Cipta Karya Tourism Village are managed by village-owned enterprises. In this village there are also five homestays that can be rented by tourists who want to stay longer to learn local wisdom.

Kompas Daily Business Deputy Director Novi Eastiyanto said, KTF 2023 which was organized by Kompas daily was the tenth KTF implementation. KTF 2023 takes place from Friday-Sunday (1-3/9/2023). During the three days of implementation, the target visitor is expected to reach 20,000 people. KTF 2023 participants come from various backgrounds in the tourism industry, such as airlines, travel agencies, financial institutions, and the Indonesian Recreation Park Business Association (PUTRI). There are also six tourist villages that are included in the Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) category.